An Unusual Remembrance Of 9/11

America's most popular news show, "60 Minutes," last Sunday devoted their entire hour to "Mark Owen," one of the Navy SEALs who shot "several rounds" into Osama bin Laden's "twitching and convulsing" body "until he was motionless." http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7421138n

As this story unfolded, by murdering Osama bin Laden, it was a proud act of heroism for the Navy SEALS who had bravely gotten retribution for the killing of nearly 3,000 people on 9/11/01.

There was no mention of the U.S. invading Afghanistan and Iraq, and the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who have been slaughtered because of those invasions. Nor was there mention of the millions more people severely injured by those invasions nor the thousands of orphaned children.

There was not even a discussion about the 4,488 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq nor the 1,988 U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan, nor the many thousands of severely injured U.S. soldiers, nor the dead and severely injured soldiers of U.S. allies, President Bush called "The coalition of the willing."

No, these people are lost to U.S. history even as their numbers continue to grow, and their families continue to bare the pain and hardship of their loss. For America again has heroes who are not rock stars, Hollywood actors or athletes: The Navy SEALS who "got" Osama bin Laden.

But this remembrance I am publishing is unusual because it recalls everyone else who has paid a mind numbing price in these wars. And if getting retribution through murder is to be honored, then we must brace ourselves for many more people seeking that form of heroism.

For when it comes to war and heroism, without contemplation or comment, we cast out our religious believes, our spiritual growth, our compassion and our caring for our brethren and unleash Hell on earth.

Dick