Life: The Last Frontier

This blog will be two-fold...first I want to address the execution that took place today and second the mass-homicide that took place at Fort Hood in Texas. First, the execution of the D.C. sniper was scheduled today 11/10/09 at 9pm. This is a question of whether the death penalty should be allowed or not in this country. My view on this is kind of complex. Although internally I feel that "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," should be the principle that is used when such topics are discussed; I know that not every situation is the same. Sometimes the issues behind sentencing someone to death row may be perplexing and bizarre. Today I was discussing with someone why the D.C. sniper deserved to be executed. ( I was surprised that I chose to be the devil's advocate in this debate, but I stood by it nonetheless). My friend was saying how she felt sad that the sniper was going to be executed, and I was like, 'why should you feel sad, don't you know how much senseless pain and grief this man has caused to innocent people and families who didn't even see it coming.' I tried showing her that retribution must be exacted on this man for his transgressions. But saying that seems like we are in some way in charge of his life, and so when he slips and falls (transgression), we play the role deciding if his life is valuable to society any longer. And that was exactly my friends point. Who are we to decide to end this man's life...we are not God. I agree to an extent that capital punishment is fundamentally flawed. Constitutionally, we tell the citizens of this country that you are not to kill. That it is illegal to kill. Yet, the government can chose to kill people when they deem it is necessary; either by tribunal or court proceedings, it has the power to go against one of its on statutes. This is perplexing. As a tangent, when a person in his own home has the right to use his weapons to defend himself and/or his property, it is legal for him to do so. I don't get. What if that person protecting his home kills an intruder or whatever. Does he get executed? No, of course not. Because he only killed in self defense. But what if the D.C. sniper had only killed one or two people. Would he have gotten the death penalty, or would his crime seem less egregious. On this issue, I think I'm firm on the death penalty. The paranoia, fear, and senseless killings that this man has visited to innocent people, in my opinion, is too much for family members to bear. As I was trying to relate this to my friend, she could not clearly come back to me on that point. When we talk about capital punishment and its about other people, we can talk from a distance about what we think and what ought to be done. But if you are related to someone who was killed, its different. You cannot in the right frame of mind, hold on to your inhibitions. You want that person to suffer for what he has done, I know I would. Some people would forgive the person who caused them so much pain. I respect that because that shows that they are at an understanding that a higher power will decide the fate of that person- not them. But it seems to me that our society is torn about capital punishment.

Moving on to the case of the alleged Muslim person who shot 7 innocent people at the Fort Hood army base. I saw some footage of the funeral today, and it didn't move me until they showed the 7 caskets each with a picture of each fallen soldier. President Obama gave a quick description of each soldier, and it was then that you realized that this person was a real person. That they had life, and that they were just trying to make it, like you and me. It was painful to watch because their life ended for no reason. Because a crazed man, who no longer wished to fulfill his duties in the army, chose to act out violently. I don't know how much bearing his Muslim background had to do with all of this. I saw some reports that he attended the same mosque as some of the 9/11 hijackers. I don't know if this is true or not. But my initial feeling after this was not a good one. You get mad after you see something like that. One thing I would like the media to do is get their facts straight before they just broadcast whatever piece of information they just obtained.