Non-violence as an act of war..?

I came across this very interesting article on Psychology Today's website:  "Bin Laden’s Death: What Would Gandhi and Dr. King Say?"  In America and all over the world Bin Laden's death is celebrated, implying that violence and 'to kill' is an act that is not only justified but honoured and commemorated. 

It is important to keep the context in mind because one's immediately reaction would be to say that Bin Laden was responsible for the deaths of thousands innnocent civilians, and that "justice has (therefore) been done" as President Barack Obama stated.  This is true on the one hand, but on the other hand it's also true that this is not something to be celebrated - if so then I agree with Marietta McCarty when she states:  "Was there absolutely no other way?  I don't know. But if that is the case, then the inevitability of violence as a "solution" is bone-chilling to the marrow".

Here are a few excerpts taken from Gandhi's "The Practice of Satyagraha," words that seem appropriate to repeat today: "A non-cooperationist strives to compel attention and to set an example not by his violence.... I make bold to say that violence is the creed of no religion.... Non-violence I read in the Hindu scriptures, in the Bible, in the Koran.... We pretend to believe that retaliation is the law of our being...but war is bad in essence...I have been practicing with scientific precision non-violence and its possibilities for an unbroken period of over fifty years. I know of no single case in which it has failed."

Food for thought for a Thursday - please share your views.

I'm not a beauty queen by any standards, but perhaps they have a better understanding than most of us of what is and should be important in our lives.  Here's to world peace!