The hypocrisy of our current political environment has reached new heights. Yesterday’s historic news concerning the death of Osama bin Laden was met with very different reactions from every corner. Many people found release in the news and joined in the spontaneous revelry on the streets of New York, D.C. and other cities around the country. Many of the status updates from some of my friends on Facebook found these celebrations untoward. Then there is the political climate in D.C. (more on that later).
My first gut reaction to the news was celebratory. I didn’t go out in the street and party like my team had won the Super Bowl but I also didn’t begrudge those who did. I have read much since yesterday trying to glean the opinions of those who found the revelry inappropriate. Honestly, at first, I was surprised by those criticizing the revelers. It hadn’t crossed my mind to think those celebrations were wrong. Had I been in D.C. or New York I might have headed outside myself. After reading many opinions I had to ask what that said about me. About us as a country.
The events of 9/11 have changed us profoundly as a nation and as people. It has been, by all accounts, a dark period in our nations history. It’s been a decade of “enhanced” security, decreased civil liberties, torture of enemy combatants, unwinnable wars on numerous fronts, financial chaos and the ugly politics of fear. Worst of all 9/11 has ushered in a decade of paranoia and mistrust. Young people are dying in foreign lands. Trillions are being spent to occupy the Middle East. The unemployment rate is close to 9% and gas prices continue to climb. I think the one thing we can all agree on is the fact that this has been a pretty shitty decade. Well yesterday we found ourselves with some concretely good news. A win. We haven’t had many of those lately. Wasn’t finding bin Laden what it was all about 10 years ago? Wasn’t that supposed to be the mission? I get it, I do. I get that celebrating death in such an exuberant manner is questionable. I get how this looks to the rest of the world. Know what else I get? I get the idea of a ray of hope in all this darkness. I get that the troops and those who lost loved ones might take this as a win. I get that we needed a little good news. Was the revelry an overreaction? Probably. Was it a little too much? Probably. Does it somehow paint us as crude, blood thirsty people who celebrate death. I don’t think so. Osama bin Laden played a major role in bringing this crap-ass decade to our doorstep. We have never been the same country since 9/11. So I won’t feel bad that he is dead. I won’t feel bad for people celebrating the demise of a mass murderer. This is a win our psyche needed. Many will say that 9/11 merely held up a mirror for American society to take a hard look into. That may be true and America has a lot of history to answer for. However, that doesn’t make what bin Laden did acceptable.
Now about the political reaction. By all accounts this was a well thought out and well executed operation by some of this countries bravest soldiers. They are the true heroes. But that does not diminish the Presidents role in this as hard as some might try. This is no “Mission Accomplished” banner moment. This is the way it goes down when the grown-ups are in the room. This is a mission that has been 9 months in the making. Many are criticizing the President for playing politics with this event. Had that been the case he would have dropped a bomb on the compound and declared victory months ago when his numbers were in the tank. This was a gutsy call. In an era when unmanned drones drop indiscriminate bombs all over the Middle East the President made the call to send in the SEAL team. In the weeks prior to this operation many on the right were stamping Obama with the Carter label concerning his foreign policy. Obama had to know that if this operation went badly those arguments would get louder. We were conducting a covert military operation in the sovereign territory of our supposed ally without their permission. No civilians were injured and the entire SEAL team made it out alive. It is appalling to me that so many are so caught up in the partisan divide that they can’t rally behind our President when this is clearly a win for all of us.
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