Justice or Revenge?

From Americans cheering on the White House lawn, to Twitter posts, to the honking horns outside my window, the announcment of Osama bin Laden's death produced a flurry of excitment and celebration in the United States. Indeed, there is much to celebrate. Osama bin Laden killed almost 3,000 people on September 11th alone and is responsible for numerous terrorist attacks around the world. The American soldiers who took him out are heroes and the United States is safer without him.

But amidst the victory, I worry there is a vicious sentiment. There are some who celebrate Sunday's attack as justice, and others as revenge. The Wall Street Journal published editorials Tuesday and Wednesday citing bin Laden's death as vengeance. One of the editorialists Bret Stephens writes, "As for bin Laden, what was meted out to him was vengeance. Vengeance pure and simple, sweet and sound. Vengeance cathartic, uplifting, necessary, and right. Got a problem with that? I don't." He goes on to say that "there can be no true justice without vengeance."

If his definition of justice is tit for tat, eye for an eye, Old Testament style justice, Stephens might be right. But is retribution the reason we killed bin Laden? Is retribution the right reason to kill anyone at all? I don't think so. Revenge is passionate, spiteful, and unconstructive. It is a violent sentiment that disreagards the long term effects of an action and the inherent value of every individual. Justice, on the other hand, does neither. I think it is best understood as the Founding Fathers understood it, as the protection of man's natural rights (among those life, libery, and the pursuit of happiness). If this is how we define justice, there is a valid reason for killing bin Laden. He posed a threat to our lives. He attacked without precedent. He was, thus, a dangerous enemy. This alone justifies our killing bin Laden. Revenge has nothing to do with it. It is with somber congratulation that we should celebrate his death, not ecstatic delight; with our eyes upwards towards justice, and away from revenge.