Where Were You When You Heard bin Laden Had Been Killed?

             Certain news has quite understandably dominated the past couple of days.  Perhaps, as with September 11, 2001, I will always remember where I was when I heard the news.  Maybe this is like the Kennedy (either, but mostly John) or King assassinations were to my parents’ generation.  The similarities, of course, end with the remarkableness of the event, and its importance to the current state of affairs.

            Being that I have a facebook account, and I have a blog, I’m probably part of the problem, not the solution.  It wouldn’t be the first time that was true.  I generally make passing references to politics here, or sometimes tongue in cheek references.  But, I have a forum, and if you’re here and wish to read, I plan on using it.

            I’ve been reading comments, and articles, listening to news stories, and seeing videos of reactions to the news.  I wish to weigh in myself.  For the record, when I heard I was on a train back to Zhmerynka.  I checked my email on my Kindle.  My dear friend Paula, with an uncharacteristic show of brevity sent the following: “The US killed Bin Laden. 9 years, 7 months, & 20 days after we set out to find him. Wow.”  I read this while the train was pulling up to my town, so I put the Kindle away and made my way back home.  It didn’t seem all that real.  But, as soon as I got home I turned on my computer and facebook was bombarded with comments, as was ESPN.com and my trusted news source NPR.org.

            About as soon as I saw the news corroborated by all the different sites I started seeing different updates on facebook, and articles either celebrating the death, or denouncing the celebrations of bin Laden’s death.  I understand the discomfort celebrating the death of another human being.  I had a history professor at Providence College who used to preface each death statistic saying “now remember, every human life is sacred” (he could do that, it’s a Catholic school).  I’m not sure I agree with him.  Mark Twain’s "I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure," has also been bandied about with abandon these past not quite forty-eight hours.  I’d say I’m a bit closer to his statement.

            Are the celebrations out of line?  Do these celebrations make us “no better than them?”  I don’t know if that’s true.  These celebrations are emotional reactions.  Some of our co-nationals are truly celebrating the death of person.  Others are celebrating the blind hand of justice finally reaching this person.  Some are celebrating a milestone, an important aspect in a mission in our war in Afghanistan.  I’m celebrating the elimination of a threat to American security, and the world at large.  I’m celebrating the elimination of a source of evil; the architect of the single most significant event that has happened in my life, at least on American soil.  I’m celebrating the fact that someone responsible for so much evil, so much death, and so much destruction, and so much desecration is no longer around.  The person that was killed early Monday morning (my time) did not deserve our tears, and does not deserve our sympathy.  Does celebration of his death mean that we have been desensitized to violence and death?  I don’t think that’s true.  It means that we are celebrating justice.  We are celebrating a world that may soon be safer than before.  If I were at home right now, you could bet your ass I’d be leading a “USA” chant.  Good riddance, God Bless America and the brave men and women who serve her.  And that’s all I have to say about that.