Wednesday, April 09, 2003

Thoughts on the Liberation of Baghdad

How did you feel when you saw the "Liberation of Baghdad?"

I literally started to get choked up this morning as I was watching it.

I know there are those who will never be convinced about the justness of this war. They believe they have the monopoly on goodwill towards man and that if they feel it unjust, it must be so. This morning, though, as I saw Iraqis dancing in the streets, trying to tear down a statue of Saddam, and saying "We very happy!" I couldn't help but feel proud and feel like the free world had really done something about the oppression that others, less fortunate than we, were suffering.

I know the work of rebuilding starts soon and the party of these next few days/weeks will soon be a memory, but it's important to remember these pictures and scenes as we face the even greater challenges ahead.

The world changed on September 11 when I was on the corner of 6th Ave and Bleecker St. watching the towers fall. It's been remarked that "we knew the world had changed, we just didn't know how."

Now, in part, we know how. We know that, at least in this case, the free world is no longer satisfied to sit on the sidelines, let tyrants do what they want to their own people and serve as staging grounds for vitriol and threats to our existence. And we also have begun to validate the phrase that people are born with the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" on a global scale.