A lesson in listening

I was 11 years old when the Twin Towers were attacked. I watched it at school and knew somehow that the world would never quite be the same. Still, months later, I had grown tired of all the coverage and couldn't help wondering when the media would move on. When we would move on. But we never really did, did we?

This war on terrorism is different than WWII or Vietnam, but it's still a war that my generation has grown up in. So I wasn't surprised when there was a street riot in Greektown when news came that bin Laden had been killed. I stayed holed up in the student center finishing a project while 3,000 students shot off fireworks and chanted "U-S-A!" all night long.

I still feel for families who lost loved ones on 9/11. For anyone who lost a loved one at bin Laden's hands, for that matter. I just don't have it in me to celebrate someone being killed. Relief, maybe, that he can't hurt anyone else... but you won't find me in any of the photos on CNN from Mizzou's riots. I'm a little embarrassed that we made the top 10 celebrations, to be honest.

I wasn't going to write this post. I've been trying to keep my mouth shut about the whole situation. It's touchy. It's something everyone and their dog has an opinion about, and everyone is certain that they're right. So I took it upon myself to bite my tongue and listen to everyone else, take a lesson in respecting opinions that aren't like mine. I think we could all take a lesson in that.

This is the most I will say on the matter, but I'll sum this post up with words from an incredibly wise soul:

"Returning hate for hate only 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. Martin Luther King, Jr.