Thesis Proposal: Questions, Parallels and Coincidence in “American Justice and Divine Mercy: Thoughts on Osama Bin Laden’s Death”

Thesis: By artfully using rhetorical questions, drawing unlikely parallels, and bringing coincidences to light, Patrick Clark creates a thought provoking argument in regards Osama Bin Laden’s death.

1)      Clark’s article is littered with rhetorical questions ranging from “whose justice exactly?” to “Shouldn’t this [lack of forgiveness] bother us as Christians?” Clark’s questions pull not only from basic ethics, but also from Catholic and general Christian belief.  Clark occasionally begs the question, implying that his view of mercy and justice is correct. Nevertheless, the use of such devices gives credibility, provoking the audience to think deeper than just on the death of Osama Bin Laden.

2)      Clark also uses unlike parallels between Christ’s and Bin Laden’s death in order to evoke regret in the audience’s mind. He intertwines his parallels with beautiful questions, causing the audience to rethink the celebration of Bin Laden’s death, answering our questions of justice with the “blood that flows from Christ’s side.”

3)      Besides parallels, Clark also brings up several coincidences, specifically the fact that Bin Laden was killed on Divine Mercy Sunday, that John Paul II spoke about loving the enemy, and that while we buried Bin Laden, it was in a way of corporal justice.