Gadhafi's Death a "Sigh of Relief"?
Reports are Moammar Gadhafi is dead after having been shot in both legs as well as the head. The people of Libya are celebrating across the country, and even Hillary Clinton has called his death ‘a sigh of relief.’ Make no mistake- the fall of his tyrannical regime is a blessing for the Libyan people and lovers of freedom all over the world. But several months ago, when Osama bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces, those who openly celebrated his death were condemned.
So why is the death of Gadhafi different? In many respects, he and bin Laden are similar. They were both ruthless oppressors and murderers. Really, since bin Laden was behind the atrocious September 11th attacks and was an acknowledged US enemy, there is more reason to celebrate his death than the death of Gadhafi. The internal affairs of Libya are really of little concern to the United States. Granted, they do affect this country due to our oil interests, but really what goes on in the national politics of a country, is really none of our business.
So again, why is the death of Gadhafi acceptable to celebrate when the much greater victory to the US, the death of Osama bin Laden, was wrong to revel in? When bin Laden’s death was met with public celebration and fireworks, weren’t people like Hillary Clinton the first to tell us that celebrating death was fundamentally wrong? Should the loss of life ever be a ‘relief’ to anyone?
And actually, if people like Secretary Clinton would practice what they preached, there would be some legitimacy to their statements. This country was founded with strong importance placed on the value of life. For those who believe in this, and believe that life is a sacred gift from God, death is a great sadness and loss. Because of this, the specific death of a person should not be celebrated. The fall of evil should always be celebrated. It is possible to be both saddened by the loss of life, even the life of someone as despicable of Gadhafi or bin Laden, and still rejoice in the recession of evil’s presence in the world. After all, this country does believe in the sanctity of life, as well as the equality of all human beings. This is something that should be kept in mind by all, especially those in positions of public power in this, at times, vicious and tempting world.