Forgiveness

Are we supposed to forgive Osama Bin Laden? When reading this question initially, my first response was to think "No, we cannot forgive him." Truthfully, the terror and destruction that Bin Laden's actions caused on the majority of Americans, as well as many other citizens around the world, are just cause for the hatred many people feel towards him. However, I must remind myself that as a Catholic, I cannot feel true hatred towards another human being--another of God's people. We must feel compassion and understanding for everyone in this world. Therefore, we can and must forgive Osama Bin Laden for his acts. If we do not forgive each other for our sins, we will live in a world of hostility and anger towards one another, rather than one of love. Once I remind myself of this, it is much easier for me to forgive Bin Laden and similar people for what they did. Jesus and the God of the New Testament emphasized many different laws, and two of those laws were the laws of forgiveness and love. As Catholics, we always strive to be as close to Jesus as we can, and one important way is through forgiving our fellow human beings. Everyone in this world sins or does something that turns them away from God; even so, we must accept each other, especially because we are sinners ourselves. Jesus himself accepted sinners at his table, to the surprise of his followers. The Bible says, "So watch yourselves! 'If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive' " (Luke 17: 3-4). Clearly, the Bible urges us to forgive all people, just as we ourselves are forgiven by God for our sins. Apart from my religion's emphasis on forgiveness, there is another reason why I believe that we must forgive Bin Laden. We know that who we become is shaped by the environment we grow up in, and that we are not born with hatred. Bin Laden's actions were caused mainly because of his upbringing; if he did not live in such an anti-American environment, he would not have committed such acts of terror. Bin Laden and many other Saudi Arabians were probably raised to hate Americans, and once that hatred is set in a person, it cannot be taken away. This is most likely the case for most acts of destruction by human beings. Therefore, we cannot simply blame one person for what they did, because it is a result of years of antagonism. We must also blame ourselves, for we accept a government that oppresses people like Bin Laden in the Middle East. If we do not allow ourselves to forgive Osama Bin Laden, we must also not forgive ourselves and our society. These are just a few reasons why I believe why we must forgive Osama Bin Laden and similar people.