America, the beautiful?

When I heard the news that Osama bin Laden was dead, I was scared and confused.  My mind was swimming with fear of retaliation and questions of what this meant for the war on terror and our troops overseas.  Trying to wrap my mind around the news, I quickly turned to CNN and listened intently to fill in the blanks that Twitter and Facebook statuses did not include.  Soon, coverage shifted from the newsrooms to DC streets, showing people literally run towards a quickly growing crowd in front of the White House cheering “U-S-A!”. 

Living in DC, it would have been easy for me to hop the metro to Pennsylvania Avenue to join what looked like half of the city in cheers.  However, I was in no state of mind to celebrate.  In fact, as I watched crowds of people pour onto the streets, my confusion deepened.  Utter joy and patriotism over a death?   I was shocked.  It seemed so unnatural.

No argument here that the world is better off without Osama bin Laden— he was a monster.  However, I don’t think any death, no matter who or under what circumstance, should be what brings a country together. I’m scared that we reacted in a comparable way to crowds in the Middle East who cheered as airplanes flew into the twin towers ten years ago.  For me, that was the most twisted part of that unforgettable day ten years ago. 

A more somber reaction to Osama bin Laden’s death would have served us much better in the eyes of the international community, for the sake of our foreign relations and for the sake of each other.  Instead of feeling patriotic, I feel disappointed in America.  I feel we’ve lost some of our dignity by showcasing to the world this kind of reaction—dignity that we are already working so hard to uphold.

I was also unsettled that many were declaring this event as the "end to the war on terror."  That is a dangerous perspective for us to have, and worries me that we were too easily blind-sighted by the significance of bin Laden's death that we temporarily lost sight of the bigger picture.  Thankfully, we're now hearing less talk of this as an end and more of as a means to an end and a point of transition for the war on terror, which I can agree with whole-heartedly. Though it's been said that al-Queda doesn't have the "smarts" to continue to carry out bin Laden's ideas as harshly, he does have a strong following who I have no doubt that we are making very angry right now.  So, we cannot have our guard down and appear easily distracted.  I say let's relish in this significant"victory", but not lose sight of what true "victory" would actually be for America, and for the world.  If one such true victory does exist.  Does it?

In his official announcement of bin Laden's death, our President, who I greatly respect, stated that "justice has been done." This statement soon become headlining and historical, summing up to a whole in four words.  Justice?  Really?  Is all right in the world now that Osama bin Laden is no longer living and breathing?

I know I cannot speak for those who lost family, friends, and coworkers on September 11^th.  I can only speak for those who, like me, lost their innocence and sense of security on that day, watching people jump from burning buildings from my middle school classroom and not quite understanding why.  But bin Laden's menacing operations and disturbing desires are still haunting all of our lives in some way,  so I am uneasy that we consider the demise of bin Laden as ‘justice’ for all suffering that was endured around the world.

Was this justice for bin Laden himself, though?  Perhaps. I understand the operation carried out in Abottabad was with the purpose of eliminating bin Laden.  I am still coming to terms with that whole concept of a justified murder in the hands of a government, which is odd because if I ask myself, "did he deserve it?", I answer with certainty, "yes."  So, I'm not sure why I'm still thrown off a little by the government's actions. What I do know, however, is that I have deep respect for the individuals who carried out the orders--for their bravery, skill, and risk they put forth to do what they felt they needed to make the world a safer place.  No matter my thoughts on military actions, of which I know I have little knowledge, my hat is always off to those who devote their lives to it.

It's times like this when I turn to (reliable) news sources, blogs, and conversations with and by my peers for help in wrapping my mind around such a historial moment. Luckily for me, I spend my days fishing through news sources for my real job, so I am in no shortage of discussion.  Also convenient for me, news has been all over young people (and vice-versa) involving Osama bin Laden's death, and what followed in the streets of America and college campuses.

It was pretty easy to notice the overwhelming majority of 20-somethings in celebrations all over the country (my tiny Ohioan alma mater even made an appearance on CNN), and the insurgence of young faces and voices has raised many eyebrows and theories in the media.  From what 9/11 meant to us to retaliation against accused apathy of our generation, people are reaching for explanations for this reaction--and some of them, I think, got it.  Maybe it's because I'm surrounded by news sources about young issues all the time these days, but this is the first time I can remember such a significant presence of young voices on a national issue in a long, long time.  But I'm not complaining about that.

This is obviously not done being talked about around the world for a long, long time, so I will continue to figure this out for myself with the help of comments, discussions, and op-eds that I stumble upon.  In the meantime, despite my confusion in my patriotism and the pride we hold as a country, I just hope we can get ourselves together and move forward calmly and rationally so we can continue towards a true end to the all of the terror this world faces.