. . . See me on facebook – Follow me on Twitter
Does this death mean an end to the “war on terror”?
(I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. -Jessica Dovey) Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that ~Dr. MLK Jr.
The first line was mistakenly included with the MLK quote which quickly gained popularity, spreading like wildfire on social sites. I wouldn’t call it fake, because it is a very honest and true sentiment that obviously resonates with a mass number of Americans. I don’t believe it would have spread had there been a “malicious tone”, and that’s what I learned today. People love, agree with, and share this quote because it encourages the true path to peace. Prompting many to rethink their responses to bin Laden’s death. It spread because there is a revolution upon us, and we want peace!! Here’s the longer, even better quote in it’s entirety, from King’s book Strength to Love.
Are we seeking power for power’s sake? Or are we seeking to make the world and our nation better places to live. If we seek the latter, violence can never provide the answer. The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- listen to another MLK speech ‘A Time to Break Silence’ here
Today, an opportunity to see how much the people of the U.S. understand the transformation upon us. Perhaps we may realize how much hatred we have allowed into our hearts and minds.
Although I understand that many Americans desired to see Bin Laden murdered as symbolic closure to 9/11, I fear the consequences of such short term, stage-one thinking. Murder fuels rage, anger, and divisiveness—not peace.
Osama bin Laden’s Death: A Time to Reflect, Not Celebrate.
Osama is dead again. Yippie. It only took 9 years, the death of 919,967 civilians and troops, the ruin of at least two countries, $1,188,263,000,000, (make that 3 countries) along with the elimination of most of our rights, privacy, and dignity. He was killed with a shot to the head, and then buried “in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition” for what? Respect or convenience? Please consider the very facts the media is giving! Does it make sense to have been on this hunt for 9 years, and then dump dead Osama in the ocean within 24 hours, before capturing any proof? Something smells fishy and it ain’t Osama.
I surely don’t believe this is something to celebrate. As the CIA carefully forewarns:
Officials warned that in the aftermath of the attack, Americans should be on alert for a reprisal from al Qaeda. – Huffington Post
Can somebody explain why we would do something that we KNOW will drastically raise our terrorist threat levels after they have died down? Did America, as a country, decide that we were willing to deal with the likely consequence of another terrible terrorist attack (like 9/11). There has been little threat of terrorism in the U.S. for years. . . guess it was time to refuel the hate for “terrorists”.
Perhaps this event helps distract Americans from our current socio-economic crisis and the actual terror America is imposing on Libya. This propaganda media is good for a couple of things, like reinforcing American patriotism (America F-yeah!) and raising President Obama’s dwindling approval rating with campaign season just around the corner.
While we are all “distracted” this is what is happening in Libya:
As long as the people of this nation are preoccupied by events that yield no positive change, the political games will continue and ignorance (or “terrorism”) will reign. Today is a sad indictment of the mental state of most Americans. It’s time to wake up and realize that there’s no such thing as “an eye for an eye” in the quest for peace.
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”
I don’t see any end in this, only the beginning of something we cannot predict. However, I will emphasize the fact that WE CAN affect the direction by KNOWing peace, love, unity, light, and respect. Go within, know yourself, read books, and watch a lot of documentaries. The choice is yours – 
. . . See me on facebook – Follow me on Twitter
“Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for todayImagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peaceImagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the worldYou may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one” John Lennon, Imagine
WE ARE ONE!!!
What if our foreign policy over the past century is deeply flawed and has not served our national security interest? What if we wake up one day and realize that the terrorist threat is a predictable consequence of our meddling in the affairs of others, and has nothing to do with us being free and prosperous? What if war and preparation for war is a racket serving the special interest? What if the American people learn the truth? – Ron Paul
We can achieve much more in peace than we can ever achieve in these needless, unconstitutional, undeclared wars. – Ron Paul Watch this video!
Vote for peace and revolution – please consider Ron Paul in 2012 or at least consider considering. . . and feel free to ask questions.
{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for posting correction on the quote. That’s how I found your blog post, while doing the research for my own post (http://eveningstaraglow.blogspot.com/2011/05/fears-to-cheers.html). I read through your post, very well written and thought-provoking.
Thanks for sharing.
- ESA
I wandered onto this website looking for the MLK quote. I am sorry to hear that it is not completely authentic, as I felt it expressed my feelings very well. I am surprised by the high level of discourse though on this site. Nothing like most of the C*** I see on other sites where people leave usually vitriolic, divisive, partisan diatribes. I would like to ask for clarification though from Lena about the US forcing democracy on others. I may not be for doing so for its own sake, but I wonder how would she and others on this site suggest handling governments and cultures which deny portions of their populations basic human rights. Back when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan I watched them deny basic rights to woman, but thought that that was their culture and religion and it was their freedom to do live within those. Since, I have come to believe there are certain basic human rights that all governments and culture should have to live up to. While I would not argue for forcing them to do so, I think that concerted effort from the rest of the world, in the form of UN sanctions, etc might help in getting all governments and cultures to adhere to some basic minimal human rights for all peoples, such as a right to an education, self-expression, etc. I would very much like to know what contributors to this site think of such a proposal. Thanks — Joe
Libertarians à la Ron Paul are dangerous. They appeal to those of us who feel abused by government, but they’re in fact all about individual freedoms and resisting collective responsibility. “Fend for yourself and don’t come crying to me about your problems,” seems to be their basic attitude. Listen to them talk, and all you hear is, “Me, me, me.”
Their philosophy is illogical (no one is an island; mankind is a social animal) and their economic policies would ultimately lead to exactly the sort of haves/have-nots two-class system we are living under right now, only worse because there would be no safety net for the most disadvantaged.
They don’t represent real change; they only reinforce the worst traits of the American psyche.
Your “no man is an island” quote is appropriate even yet further along in the paragraph.
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”
The part of “any man’s death diminishes me”, I quoted in response to the Osama is Dead crowd on Facebook.
Jenna, Thank you for taking the time to find the correct quote and to write about this topic. I had a little bit to say as well, and I’ve quoted your blog in my writing. Here’s the link: http://myislamiclife.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/check-your-sources/
Thanks for sharing this. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Great post. I was looking for the (false) MLK quote and came across it. This more or less sums up how I feel, but said much more eloquently!
Nice job google-bombing the MLK quote to get more recognition for Ron Paul.
Sure, he’s got *some* decent ideas, but most of them are just crazy.
Nice post. I completely agree with what you say, except voting for Ron Paul. He seems like he’s got some good, fresh ideas – some of which may work. But I can’t get over voting for someone who is scared to answer the question of whether he believes in evolution or not…
I understand, but when you put him up to the other options he’s lookin’ REALLY good. Agreeing with him 100% would be impossible. . . Good intentions win!!
As a 75-year old man and longtime politician, Ron Paul knows that seniors make up a significant percentage of his voting constituents.
Religious sentiments—and by extension, creationism—are more common among older people. Because of this, it makes perfect sense that Paul would prefer to stay mum on potentially divisive topics like evolution.
Finally, I love it when folks say that they appreciate X and Y from Ron Paul, but they wouldn’t vote for him because of Z.
So, based on that rationale, you’re saying that you agree more strongly with any other candidate you would vote for? Furthermore, you’re saying that this other candidate’s policies are more pertinent to this country’s future than abolishing the Fed and ending the entitlement system that has crippled this nation?
Instead of not voting for Paul because of Z, why don’t you shift your perspective and vote for him because of X and Y, which are FAR more consequential to our future than Z!
Interestingly enough, in debunking a meme, you’re still incorrect. It’s not in “A Time to Break Silence.” It’s in his book “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community” in a chapter on black power.
Come on. http://www.saf.org/pub/rkba/general/MLKing.htm.
And the rest is from “Strength to Love.” But nothing a little copy/paste can’t fix to turn into one, big, wildly appropriate and timely quote.
The reason given for burying UBL at sea was to ensure he didn’t have a gravesite for his followers to gather at. Someone who knows Islam and the culture of those living in that part of the world made that information available to those in charge. I do know that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where UBL was born, didn’t want his body to rest there – neither did Afghanistan. So, where else was his body to go?
I’d like to see some proof of this “Islamic practice” we so obediently considered, after destructing the country and killing thousands of Islams.
But that is contradictory information. IF they buried him at sea so there would be no gravesite for followers to gather at, why even bother asking Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan to bury him? And IF you did ask them, and they did say “we don’t want him”, then why not just say “nobody wanted him so to adhere to the 24 hour thing, we had to bury him at sea.”?
When someone comes up with multiple reasons why they did something, and those reasons don’t even fit together logically, then something isn’t right.
That is not “A Time to Break Silence”.
Full searchable text here…
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkatimetobreaksilence.htm
i know, I linked to it
Click on the link to see it
It has been proposed that the originator of the first sentence of the quotation was a Facebook user. A screenshot of this user’s post can be found here: http://i.imgur.com/cqtjw.jpg
While this cannot be verified unless you are this person’s friend, I find it much more likely than Salon’s proposition that Penn Jillette misquoted one of King’s speeches.
A discussion on the original post can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Justin_Stamper/osama-bin-laden-dead-world-leaders-react_n_856226_86662355.html
Also, if you are going to quote this “combined quote”, please do so giving credit where credit is due.
While I agree with most of the sentiment in your post, I have to disagree with your statement that there has “been little sign of terrorism for 9 years.” Here are a few examples of why I disagree:
2002 – a bomb exploded outside the American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12. Linked to al-Qaeda.
2003 – suicide bombers kill 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. – Al-Qaeda suspected.
2004 – there were multiple attacks/kidnappings in Saudi Arabia, including an attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia which killed 5 consulate employees.
2005 – suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels in Amman, Jordan, killing 57 people – Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
2007 – Al-Qaeda terrorists detonate car bombs near Algeria’s Constitutional Council and the United Nations offices, killing over 60 people.
2008 – a series of attacks takes place on several of Mumbai, India’s landmarks and commercial hubs that are popular with Americans and other foreign tourists, including at least two five-star hotels, a hospital, a train station, and a cinema. About 300 people are wounded and nearly 190 people die, including at least 5 Americans.
2009 – In June two soldiers were shot in Little Rock, Arkansas by a many who claimed ties to al-Qaeda, and called the shooting a jihadi attack “to fight those who wage war on Islam and Muslims.”
In December, a Nigerian man on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit attempted to ignite an explosive device hidden in his underwear. The alleged bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, told officials later that he was directed by the terrorist group Al Qaeda.
2010 – a car bomb is discovered in Times Square, New York City. The bomb was ignited, but failed to detonate and was disarmed before it could cause any harm. Faisal Shahzad pleads guilty to placing the bomb as well as 10 terrorism and weapons charges.
That’s the short list of the terrorist plots that we, the public, know about. Who knows how many plans have been stopped by the various government agencies (not just U.S.) around the world?
Do I take pleasure or joy in this man’s death? Certainly not, but justice did need to be served. Nor do I think that his death will curtail the efforts of other extremists. But to say that terrorist efforts have died down completely or that there has been little sign of terrorism for 9 years is to stick your head in the sand.
Agree with this sentiment thoroughly.
To add – don’t forget the bombings in Bali (202 dead, 209 injured, 2002), Madrid (191 dead, 1800 injured, 2004) and London (56 dead, 700 injured, 2005) and the untold thousands that have died (ironically enough) in Pakistan due to Al Qaeda ‘inspired’ hatred.
Thank you for this message. It gives me hope that we have not lost our humanity. I don’t care how idealistic it may seem, I want to be part of a humanity that aims to raise the bar, not lower it.
Bin Laden needed to be eliminated because he was CONTINUING to fund and organize terrorist activities. Asking him nicely to stop didn’t work.
Your belief in nonviolence was just made more possible by a bullet to Bin Laden’s dead.
You’re welcome.
What if our foreign policy over the past century is deeply flawed and has not served our national security interest? What if we wake up one day and realize that the terrorist threat is a predictable consequence of our meddling in the affairs of others, and has nothing to do with us being free and prosperous? What if war and preparation for war is a racket serving the special interest? What if the American people learn the truth? – Ron Paul
We can achieve much more in peace than we can ever achieve in these needless, unconstitutional, undeclared wars. – Ron Pau
Maybe if we had found and killed Bin Laden in 2001 there would have no public or political sentiment for the war in Iraq and escalation in Afghanistan. I can’t help but wonder…
I think we are in danger of becoming that which we abhor when we take to the streets in a frenzied jubilee in celebration of the death of one person, no matter how heinous an existence that person lived. Am I saddened by Bin Laden’s death? No, and I also don’t feel happy or more secure as a result of his death.
I love my country, but I’m hard pressed to say that I’ve felt proud of my country for quite a while now. I know that’s not a popular sentiment and that I risk hearing the wrath of those who disagree with me. So be it.
On a day when one individual enemy has been brought to his death we would do well to remember that there are untold numbers of extremists that will take to the streets celebrating his martyrdom. Let us be ever vigilant in our own defense. Let us also do so with honor and humility.
Well said. Although, I am not as proud to be an American as you are. America has become a bully—sad but true and many will disagree, but I dont care. I too am not rejoicing over Osama’s death. And I dont think it will change anything. Terrorism will exist so long as American Government will continue to FORCE democracy on outsiders for self-interest. I dare someone to tell me that American Gov. cares about democracy in those parts of the world. How naive can Americans be? You think our government cares about us?—think again. Its every many for himself. Take a look at Wall Street. They got away with murder! As well as all the banks that got greedy. So many innocent people are suffering the demise of a few greedy corporations. WHERE WAS JUSTICE THEN? American gov needs to take care of home first, and then take care of others. We are supposed to be a UNITED STATES—not a DIVIDED STATES. But with a divided government, the American people will continue to suffer…and thats how they like it…keep the bickering going so that nothing gets done!
Viva la revolucion!!!
The quote was falsely attributed to MLKJr in it’s entirety because somewhere someone omitted a quotation mark from the original posting: http://i.imgur.com/cqtjw.jpg
Thank you, Karen,
Mystery Solved!
It was still a bit of a misquote even then; she substituted “violence” for “hate.” That being said, I don’t think Dr. King would mind.
Reason for dumping the body so quickly was to comply with Islamic requirements. It was never about a war on Islam so such customs should be observed. If not, you invite all Islam to be up in arms over how the body was treated. It is also a fact that no country in the region wanted the body, to accept security for protecting it against desecration, looting or as a place for his supporters to gather. Any other country was outside the 24 hour limit. The only viable option left was burial at sea.
For better or worse, the end was inevitable. We cannot end hate with hate, nor violence with violence but we also cannot continue to allow safe haven for those who would perpetuate it. Perhaps it will serve as warning to the next terrorist leader who will rise up. Maybe the world is really at the point where it will no longer terrorism.
So a 9 year war, killing thousands of innocent Islams, and then shooting Bin Laden IN THE HEAD – but then care about Islamic practices? All of a sudden we are concerned with the response of all of Islam? Please show me where this practice is clearly expressed and stated. Can you?!
I know what the media has stated. I read the articles. It just sounds silly. . . not believable for me. Most Islam’s wouldn’t even have know he was dead yet. And perhaps the super intelligent CIA could have figured out a work around. This big celebration and media event over this death is all that has controlled the information surrounding what happened. I’m sure other info will surface eventually, as it always does. . .
Hmmm…then can you explain why didnt they do the same for Sadam (who by the way had no weapons of mass destruction)? They were quick to post images of Sadams dead body but not Osama? Sorry. Too fishy for me.
One wonders if MLK would not rejoice just a little if Hitler had been hiding out, plotting the deaths of more Jews, but was later found and killed. If he didn’t it might have more to do with a belief in God’s justice than a more general philosophy of peace. When a murderer is on the lose, do we not worry first about his potential victims? Perhaps “rejoice” is too strong, but it seems natural to feel relief that a threat to innocent lives is thwarted.
Rejoice is what folks were doing outside the White House and at Ground Zero when they heard. Gathering on the sidewalk and celebrating. To me it looked an awful lot like the images of “terrorists” burning the american flag or celebrating over the 9/11 attacks. It saddened me that some people found it necessary to celebrate, making it hard to tell the difference between the victims and perpetrators.
Thank you so much for your words of clarity, Jenna. You have so clearly articulated exactly what I’ve been thinking about this event. I simply cannot rejoice until the troops come home, and that’s sure to be a long way off.
The MLK quote is a fake. Look it up and see for yourself. Lovely words, but hardly “a Biblical perspective” or even a “faithful” perspective when whoever made it up stuck a famous person’s name on it to give it bogus credibility.
It’s not “fake” or “made up”. I’m sure it was a mistake that someone passed the extra sentence along. It is all REAL except for the first line. I have corrected it above, and provided the proper quote.
I don’t think people will take it back when they realize the first line wasn’t actually MLK, because whoever agrees. . . still agrees.
Tina, thank you for bringing this back to Jesus’ perspective. I wondered if there was something wrong with me, why I didn’t rejoice at the news that Bin Laden had finally been killed. Although it was clearly necessary to take this guy out, he is now beyond salvation, and Satan is enjoying having another soul to torment. I’m a bit relieved, but also aware that there are many more people out there with nothing but hate in their hearts, and, though they may force us to kill them in order to restrain their evil deeds, killing any number of evil-minded individuals, no matter how well-deserved and necessary, will not destroy the twisted philosophy of hate that motivated them. We must be careful lest we become motivated by a selfish desire for revenge instead of by a righteous desire for justice.
“He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster” – Nietzsche
The “celebrations” in America are a direct reflection of what was witnessed by Americans in the days after 9/11. If we’re supposed to be the superior moral power here, we’re doing a pretty terrible job of it. Americans were outraged when watching the Mulsim world cheering the collapse of the two towers.. and now here we are, tables turned, and shoving it right back at them.
Yes, the man was a monster. But scenes such as these ( http://tinyurl.com/3u6zjlp ) do little to advance our diplomatic position or foster peace. Quite frankly, it’s embarassing.
Perhaps now that World Peace has been achieved by killing one old man, we can start rebuilding our schools and education system, because if we don’t, no amount of military funding will save us from our own self-imposed destruction.
Thank you Miszou, I agree completely.
“What’s hard to understand if you weren’t there is that there’s a very simple reason for the atmosphere … it was 1 a.m. These were 90 percent college kids who decided to hook a left instead of heading to the bars. No hatred, no burning people in effigy, just good news meaning an excuse to hang from a light pole on a day where the cops would cheer you on for doing so. Does it really make sense to set a car on fire because your team won a basketball game? Sure, if you listen to your id.
I didn’t think it was the tone I would have wanted, but the more I see people give high-handed criticism of a bunch of people gathering in the streets just to sing songs and share a sense of glad togetherness, the more protective I feel.
I mean, dude. I saw a hippie give a military officer a hug. I saw police officers laughing gleefully at people committing (victimless) crimes, yelling “just don’t get hurt!” And 400 people cheering on a Muslim guy waving an American flag I saw New Yorkers not caring about a traffic jam. No hatred, but a sense that we did something right, something we said we’d do, and brought him to justice. (And if the raid went down the way they said, it seemed to have been handled justly).”
Alex…
perhaps those same excuses relate to the scenes we saw from the other side after 9/11. A few happy go lucky people walking the street having a good time… someone’s cigarette spark caught on a flag, and away it went…??
Did you ever think that they may have also been celebrating the symbolic relief of defeating the people which their media and government had told them was their enemy? Much like… gee I don’t know… western media and governments?
Terrorist activity has not died down. Not sure where you are getting those facts from but terrorist activity is happening here and in many other countries. It is a known fact that they have been planning more of it. The Sympathy for this man irks me to the core. Do you have sympathy for Hitler to? That man had to be stopped. I guess if you lost your child in 9/11 you would think differently. He did not deserve the air he breathed.
Sandra I am sorry for your loss but your sentiments are prime example of what King said in his quote. You can not hold on to bitterness. It will consume you. It will not give you relief. Holding on to hate and bitterness is like holding on to the blade of a knife. The only person you hurt is yourself. I often think of Jesus on the cross. Though he was beaten and tortured, he still asked his Heavenly father to forgive his enemies. I am not condoning what happen but I refuse to go through hell on earth to end up in hell by hating my enemy.
I pray that you find peace and forgiveness
sandra levine illustrates exactly the sentiments that the jihadists and ‘terrorists’ have for us. violence and hatred beget only violence and hatred – which is what King states very eloquently in this quote.
sandra levine your fear and anger only give your enemies more power. only by letting go of these feelings will you rise above the level of the terrorists and help to show them that the western way of life is not an evil they need to destroy.
Really? Well I mourn the loss of my Father and my Brother who were both killed on 9/11, and you can take your MLK quote and shove it where the sun don’t shine. I will rejoice in osama’s death until the day of mine.
Your rage doesn’t negate the wisdom of someone who knew a lot more about life than you. Sorry for your losses. But if you devote more than a couple days thought to this, I recommend counseling.
Good for you. Don’t let these people who didn’t lose someone tell you what to think.
Any amount of rejoicing that you have done, does not bring your lost family members back. I do hope that the death of a man you did not know, is able to ease your suffering and loss for your family. Though I do not believe it will in any way erase the feelings you have felt these past nine years.
I do know that the images of americans rejoicing in the streets at the death of Osama, will incite anger and rage in those who did know him. That anger and rage will likely spur them to plan and execute other terrorist plots, killing more americans. The only way to break the cycle, is to put away the anger and rage, and show them that their way of “an eye for an eye” is not the best way. Show them that Love is more powerful than anything they have ever witnessed before.
I have no right to tell you how to feel or how to react. I did not lose anyone in the 9/11 attacks. the question that has to be asked is this: “What comfort will you give to those who lose loved ones in the attacks that come because of your rejoicing?”