I have been reading a lot about the death of Bin Laden in the news lately, I couldn't avoid seeing it if I wanted to.
What I find most surprising is the comments section of the articles I read, and that the idea of "you are with us, or you are against us" has reared its ugly head again. Apparently if you believe that celebrating someone (anyone's) death is inappropriate then you are a non-patriotic terrorist loving son of a bitch. Do I mourn the death of Bin Laden? No. Do I think he was a nice dude, and would be cool to have some beers with? No. Is the world better off without him? Yes. He was a person guilty of planning and coordinating acts of violence (terrorism- the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes) to satisfy an agenda. No sane person can stand behind terrorist tactics with a clean conscious, so no, I am not a fan. Do I see a point to celebrating his demise? Not really. It's more "United We Stand" bullshit, flag waving propaganda. Consider for one moment the political rifts that are currently going on. Tea Party, Birthers, Donald Trump, all the Republicans claiming that this Democrat President isn't doing a good job... now tell me, where is this "unity" that binds all of us Americans together? Obamas election has created a decidedly divided political landscape, but I bet there were no separate lines for chanting USA outside the White House. So ease up on the us against them, black and white rhetoric, real unity in America is still just a dream. It's you versus me versus Bob versus them.Stop pretending we were on the same team before.
I also read multiple comparisons of Bin Laden to Hitler. Seriously? Have any of these people making those references read a history book? Hitler was an elected political leader with powerlust, and a racist agenda. Was Hitler a nice dude? No. Is the world better off without him? Assuredly. People kept asking if we shouldn't have celebrated his death. Hey guys, wanna know a little secret? No one did. People celebrated the end of a war that killed an estimated 60 million people, people celebrated not having to live in fear of being dragged away by an oppressive regime, not the death of Hitler. Bin Laden was not an elected official, he was a religious figure mostly, running a rogue operation not associated with any country, and certainly not responsible for 60 million deaths. He is also not the Team Captain of all terrorists worldwide. We will not be pulling all troops out of the Middle East immediately. this was not the Super Bowl winning field goal in overtime. This was one person, a person I would consider a "bad guy" in the simplest of terms. He is dead. The world is probably better off. Save your celebration for when the very last terrorist alive is dead (and consider the absurdity of this statement while you're at it), then we will have scored that field goal in overtime. Then you can crack open your can of Miller and drink to the death of another man, like you had anything to do with it. You wouldn't even know his name.
