We go to bed early around here, and sometimes, we miss some news announcements. This happened last night, as well. I woke up to Facebook postings of great joy and celebration over the death of a man we considered a terrorist in this country for many years.
I find it hard to be ‘excited’ or ‘happy’ that Osama Bin Laden is dead. Instead, I’m troubled. No matter how horrible of a person he was, I feel for his family. Someone out there loved him, cared for him, made him his favorite breakfast when he was a child. They passed him sweets under the table or played practical jokes on him. He was just a man. Undoubtedly, he helped make some pretty horrible things happen, but I can’t say I’m glad he’s dead. I feel sorrow for everything that has happened in and around our world because of his ideals. I take no joy in his passing, though.
I’m with you. Celebration and merry-making seems the wrong response to this event. I find myself inexplicably wanting to cry. I’m not mourning his passing, but the waste of the lives and resources this has all cost us. 10 years of his draining our country of people and money – that seems to me to be the real terrorist act. The 911 events were just his opening act.