These are some of the thoughts I wrote down ten years ago:
If Osama bin Laden is killed, instead of celebrating in the streets, we should greet the news with:
–Solemn thanksgiving to God alone
–Awe that such a monstrously wicked mind was among us and is now gone
–Repentance for the state of the world that such a killing should be necessary
–Sober awareness of the power of Death over us all
–Certainty that each one of us, no less than bin Laden, will come before the throne of judgment of our righteous God
–Recognition that although this appeared to be necessary, it is an unhappy business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with (Ecclesiastes)
–and finally, a sober understanding that Sauron will rise again.
“–and finally, a sober understanding that Sauron will rise again.”
Yes, I heard the news about bin Laden’s death at about the same time that my class was finishing The Plague, by Albert Camus, with its haunting last paragraph.