Osama Bin Laden Character Analysis

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Pages: 7

Listening, understanding, compassion. These three words are great at the surface and in theory, but they were probably not the first words or actions to come to people’s minds regarding Osama bin Laden after 9/11. It takes a lot practice and work to use these words in situations such as 9/11, but to exercise them in life is even more difficult. This is exactly what Thich Nhat Hanh would do, though, if he were ever given the opportunity to speak to Osama bin Laden, despite the difficulty. Thich Nhat Hanh uses the skills of listening, understanding, and compassion to help create peace in society.

Listening is the absolute first thing that Thich Nhat Hanh says he would do if he were “face to face with Osama bin Laden.” He wouldn’t try and get revenge or yell at him, he would simply listen to what Osama bin Laden had to say in order to understand why he did what he did. This is not easy for Thich Nhat Hanh, just as it wouldn’t be for anyone else, but he mentions how he would need to remain calm and would need the help of his friends. He would listen and understand without any judgment or blame in order to create an environment for Osama bin Laden to feel as though he could completely share and be able to trust that he is truly being heard. It would be hard for Osama bin
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He says that our patterns of consumption are one of the big reasons for the attacks. The U.S. consumes 60% of the world’s energy, while only accounting for 6% of the world’s population. Also, by the end of elementary school, children in the U.S. have seen thousands of acts of violence. Lastly, “our foreign policy and the lack of deep listening within our relationships” is a cause for 9/11. Because of our lack of deep listening to begin with, Thich Nhat Hanh’s idea of deep listening, understanding, and compassion could really help in this situation and could help in making sure it never happens again in order to keep peace between many