The death of a man is the death of man

The Iranian community worldwide was saddened when a few days ago news of the passing of Siamak Pourzand — a seasoned, well-respected Iranian journalist with a glowing reputation for advocating liberty — spread across the globe. Well-deserved messages of sympathy and condolences filled many pages in the cyber space as well as the printed media. A man of honour had died, and his loss was painfully felt by his compatriots who knew and respected him.

A day later, his family announced that his death had been a suicide, and the expressions of sympathy for his loss were turned into declarations of praise for his “courage“ in taking his own life in protest! Suddenly, it seemed that “suicide” was being glorified as an act of courage, because it was done in a spirit of protest against dictatorship and injustice. Somehow, I can easily understand how the outcome, the message, or the act of protest can appear praiseworthy; however I ponder with melancholy on our humanity when I take notice of the fact that the means to that “end” no longer seem to matter!

As a mother, I wonder whether my children will grow up in a new culture that accepts suicide in certain cases as something to be glorified! I wonder if humanity is now all about the “end”, and the process which takes us to that end is no longer worthy of being noble! Does the end really justify the means? And, if so, what purpose really is there in going through the process of life as a human being?

Today, news of another death spread across the globe. This time it was not the news of the passing of a good man, but rather of a man who has become known to the world as a heartless terrorist! Certainly no pain was felt by the loss of Osama Bin Laden’s life, but somehow when my 12-year-old boy cheered at the news of his assassination, I could not feel the pangs of sorrow in my heart for witnessing his bizarre reaction.

Again, it rings the question about the end justifying or not justifying the means. In my idealist heart, I would like to believe that the death of a man is the death of man, regardless of who that man is or has been; or that suicide is still suicide regardless of the reasons for which it is committed! In my ideal world, I do not wish to see my child rejoicing at a man’s death even that of a known terrorist; nor do I wish for him to grow up glorifying suicide even if it committed by a noble man in the name of a noble ideology!

Where do we find our humanity if not in our oneness and unity; and when do we start to bind the hearts together in harmony if not respecting the process that takes us to our ideals.

Liberty is certainly a noble ideal, but if I glorify suicide committed in the name of liberty, then can I really and in all honestly disrespect suicide bombing? Certainly the young lad who wraps the destructive bomb on his body is also doing it for a vision or ideal that he holds noble, worthy and even sacred. Where do we draw the line when we forget the means and look only to the end?

The world is undoubtedly somewhat safer without blood-thirsty terrorists in it, but somehow when a child cheers at a man’s death, I wonder if the rest of us have been able to create a safe world even in the absence of known terrorists. So does the end really justify the means or is it time to start strengthening the foundations by giving value to human life as a principle and try to change the lives as they are lived instead of offering bizarre reactions to deaths…

— Gloria Yazdani

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