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love/hate for bin Laden

Posted May 2nd, 2011 by Kevin Matthews

 

Bin Laden is dead. Although this is a great victory for my country, I can’t help but feel saddened by his passing, and somewhat sickened by Americans, my countrymen, celebrating in the streets. Don’t get me wrong, bin Laden was an evil man. The warrior/ex-soldier in me welcomes his defeat and celebrates his death as a huge blow to the al Qaeda network. However, the compassionate lover in me feels a loss, somehow, that I have a difficult time explaining because it is a feeling with which I am not familiar. As I watched young men and women in front of the White House chanting “U-S-A” on the news last night, it reminded me of seeing young Muslim men and women celebrating in the streets of the various Middle Eastern capitals after 9/11. I think that’s what upset me, that we celebrate just as they celebrate, all happy and jubilant, crying tears of joy over the killing of others, the deaths of our own kind. That’s what makes me sick. It also shows how primitive we are as a race and highlights the uphill battle that we, as Integral enthusiasts, have. 
 
I can’t help but feel a bit traitorous by saying that I feel saddened by bin Laden’s death. It’s a weird feeling, alien to me, especially since I spent so much energy and time training to become a soldier and fight for my country against al Qaeda. Can anyone shed some light on this? Why do I feel remorse for someone who orchestrated the killing of so many of my countrymen? Is there something wrong with me???? I have some conclusions, but would love to hear what others have to say.      

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It's all allowed.

Posted May 2nd, 2011 by Corey deVos

Hey Kevin, thank you for initiating this conversation, and for sharing your own personal experience.  Here are a few paragraphs I wrote today as I continue to feel into my own reactions, which may or may not be useful to you (I may continue building on this and offer it as its own post in the near future, but thought it might be appropriate here in your thread.)

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EDIT: I just finished publishing the full version of this article, which can be found here.

 

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Corey W. deVos

Editor, Writer, Producer
Integral Life
Managing Editor
KenWilber.com

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Blue/amber

Posted May 3rd, 2011 by stefano

I think it is tricky to relate to the amber/blue level in people.  On the one hand, blue is healthy for people.  But when one person's blue comes up against another person's blue, when they are incompatible because one's a Christian and one's a Muslim, or one's an American and one's an Arab, then there's a fight between the two blue strains.  

So then we just wish everyone would move to worldcentric orange, and just recognise our common universal humanity.  There's lots of ways to see the sadness in it, and I'm guessing this is worldcentric:  the fact that there was a fight in the first place, the fact that they hate America, the fact that America and some of the West had to spend 10 years fighting to track this guy down, the fact that 911 was part of a cycle of violence which has just continued and continued and, perhaps over the years many lives were saved by the work of good people, but also many have been killed in the name of this or that cause or objective. 

He was just one man and he probably won't be the last.  What makes America great is its orange freedoms.

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respite

Posted May 3rd, 2011 by Ambo Suno

Good or bad, Kevin, right or wrong - well AQALLY complex - I personally feel some momentary respite. I'll add to the pile of thoughts coming loose from us and say that I think much of the collective consciousness of this country and some others have been holding breath ever-so-slightly at the declared task of "getting Bin Laden". Unfinished business to the normal U.S. psyche. Also, I have heard that life is endless symphony and this is probably but one designated movement. I feel some speechlessness in me.

ambo