"Bin Laden is dead. Al-Qaida is ot" - CIA director Leon Panetta, as reported yesterday by the Huffington Post. TEDDY PAPES After Osama Tuesday, May 3, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily com Anlyzingffabliy 15 Osama bin Laden is dead, but I'm not exactly sure what that means to me. As I listened to the uproar outside my window last night it seemed that campus had a much clearer idea of what it meant to them. Passersby erupted in cheers and chants of "U.S.A." and the only thing I really knew was that I felt nothing like they did. My first reaction was it was a shame we didn't capture him, but accord- ing to Obama, "justice has been done". What have we achieved by killing Osama bin Laden - and has justice really been served? When I saw the reports of jubi- lation on the White House lawn and other places across the coun- try, I immediately felt ashamed. Death may even be too kind of a punishment for bin Laden, but what are we doing celebrating his death? A May 2 Michigan Daily article told of Unviersity students singing"Hail to the Victors" at the White House. I cannot even begin to address the stupidity and lack of correlation between Michigan and bin Laden, unless the Navy Seal who plugged him was an alum. Does our Wolverine hubris know no bounds? His death is a symbol not of success or justice but of vengeance. The celebra- tions immediately reminded me of those of the Fallujah residents who murdered the four Blackwa- ter contractors and the rapture of the Somalians who paraded the bodies of the Blackhawk pilots in Mogadishu. There is a famous quote from Confucius that says, "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" - except in the case of bin Laden we should have dug a few hundred thousand. I hardly think that by killing one person we have achieved an equi- table response to the devastating terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 or the other bombings bin Laden is responsible for. And if equity is what we're looking for, the U.S. has surpassed the attacks 100- fold. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died since the invasion of Iraq and more Ameri- can soldiers have died in Afghani- stan and Iraq than the amount of Americans killed on Sept. 11 The world is probably a better place without bin Laden, but it has also paid a heavy price for his death. I can't say it has been worth it. Our arrogance and our brazen quest to achieve vengeance have left the world scarred, and with his death, little has changed. Al-Qaida still exists and terrorism is still a real threat. And what are we thinking bury- ing him in the ocean? The New York Times reported that it's Mus- lim tradition to bury a body within 24 hours of its death, but that can- not be the reason we dumped him in the Arabian Sea. We invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, bombed Pakistan with drone strikes, shot bin Laden in the head and sud- denly we care about honoring his carcass in the Muslim tradition? His version of Islam is a perver- sion anyway - maybe we should have done him a favdr and given him a good Christian burial. Not to mention that this sea burial is ammo for conspiracy theorists, an easy opportunity for people to claim that bin Laden is actually still alive. We could have at least waited to decide what to do with his body before we sent it to Davy Jones' Locker. Osama bin Laden is dead, but the world is still full of threats home and abroad. A little restraint in our celebrations might also have preserved what little politi- cal clout the U.S. has left. Rather than rejoicing in elation, the U.S. should be reflecting on the past 10 years. We should collect ourselves - and when we realize that our situation hasn't changed, we need to make sure we proceed with a better direction in the future. Teddy Papes is the editorial page editor. Amy Chua, known as the "Tiger Mom", scared many well- to-do parents by claiming that they're soft for letting their kids have slum- ber parties. David Brooks, " a journalist for The New York Times, claims the contrary - - Amy Chua ERIK is soft for let- TORENBERG ting her kids hide behind the - comfort of their math homework. "Managing status rivalries, negotiating group dynamics, understanding social norms, nav- igating the distinction between self and group - these and other social tests impose cognitive demands that blow away any intense tutoring session or class at Yale," Brooks writes in a Jan. 17 column called "Amy Chau Is a Wimp." While Brooks may argue that a college party is more cognitively demanding than a night study- ing in the library, this isn't to say a night at Rick's is a bastion for intellectual growth but that social intelligence -is the essence of per- sonal and professional success. We recognize people who are socially astute - who's "with it". Although it may take many forms, these people succeed in the fol- lowing areas: First, they understand them- selves. We can sense when a per- son's identity is defined through approval from others and when a person hasn't done enough self- exploration to understand their biological and cultural disposi- tions - what subjects and activi- ties they naturally thrive in and what people they are naturally compatible with. Socially intelli- gent people typically understand their deep motivations and how their upbringing has helped in constructing their personal nar- rative. As Brooks writes, "It's much easier to change your envi- ronment than to change your insides." The socially intelligent person coordinates his environ- ment with his inclinations. He matches what he does and who he spends his time with what he's good at and who he has fulfilling connections with, regardless of geography. And so he puts him- self in an environment, physically and emotionally, that pushes him to be the best version of himself - because to be yourself is just stu- pid (what if you're a jerk?). Our ideal individual also understands relationships are everything. He understands the subtleties of building and sus- taining relationships and on what foundations those connections rest. He puts himself in situations where these connections are most likely to occur, and avoids situations where they won't. Each person's emotional nour- ishment is different. Some are naturally more gregarious, able to befriend many people while maintaining their individuality. Others are more reserved, prefer- ring more time with fewer people. All that matters is that our social- ly skilled person is genuine. Peo- ple trust him. They respect him. And ideally, he inspires them. But that's just my view. Brooks used his own vocabularyto deter- mine a social skill set, but his overarching implication is that human capital should not be mea- sured solely on IQ or standardized tests. For purposes of building any team or organization, per- haps companies and schools will think of other ways to evaluate its applicants. Perhaps in the future moms will drop their kids off at metis practice. (According to Brooks, metis is "the ability to see patterns in the world and derive a gist from complex situations.") Or a job interview will focus on test- ing one's equipoise - or, accord- ing to Brooks, "the ability to serenely monitor the movements of one's own mind and correct for biases and shortcomings." These skills typically receive little attention, unless in some vague, trite way. Imagine a pro- spective college student asking a tour guide how he can become a better listener. It's often assumed we learn these things on our own, and there's a reason for that. Can you imagine a minor in self- exploration or a program in lead- ership? Success is also based on social intelligence. Well, as it turns out, the latter exists. The Barger Leadership Institute within Organization Studies is leading some exciting experiments and plans to teach a course on leadership next fall. They're not the first to believe that these skills can be taught. Numerous people have been try- ing to break these skills down into separate parts and teach them, but have failed to focus on technique and succeeded in building habits to internalize such skills. Perhaps I'll explore the how in another article. Like Brooks, I'm interested in this subject not because it naturally comes easy to me, but because it doesn't. Eric Torenberg can be reached at erikto@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. Letters are edited for style, length, clarity and accuracy. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu.