Peace

Like others, I was thrilled to hear about the news on Bin Laden's death. But as of this morning, my excitement was already gone. In its place is a sense of uncertainty. Will his death lead to a decrease of terrorist activities? Or will it actually galvanize the extremist group?

I used to be an avid follower of politics, discussing and even debating sometimes on various political candidates. But not any more - I can see how difficult it is to change things, and I do admire people who not only talk but also do. My own impatience makes me want to focus on things that I could change as opposed to things that I could not. At least that is how I think about myself.

There is always rationale behind any political argument - even terrorist ones. I am sure that in the Arab world, the American policy was to blame for many of its societal ills. Not an Arab or a Muslim myself, I probably should not pass judgment on how they should feel. The only way I can pass judgment is to say that obviously terrorist activities do not benefit anyone, with the exception of providing a sense of vindication to those with hatred. But who knows - perhaps for those people with nothing to lose, that sense of vindication is what they want more than anything else in the world.

The entire history of human beings has been fraught with various wars, religious or secular. I was flipping through New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd's book "Are Men Necessary", in which she half-jokingly talked about how the world will be so much better and more peaceful were it run by women instead of men. Sure - women can be vicious in their attacks of each other, but often in words only and rarely with guns.

Indeed world peace might be the best argument for female power - catty bickering is at least better than bloody wars.