First Person Reaction: Osama Bin Laden Dead

COMMENTARY | The death of Osama Bin Laden has provided normalcy. As a general supporter of President Obama, I've noticed the continued, increasing divide between liberals and conservatives in America. When I heard the news about Bin Laden's death, one thing was certain: Most Americans weren't sad about it. I was, in fact, happy, and so were most others, regardless of political affiliation.

Cheering Because Someone Died

I have a lot of reasons to be excited about Bin Laden's death. It means the deaths of our troops and the economic hardships Americans have faced were not without reason. They've culminated in the death of the number one most wanted bad guy, or so the government would have us believe, anyway. But what did I just say? I said I was excited about someone's death. Isn't that wrong?

Osama Bin Laden caused a great deal of misery to many Americans. It provides a feeling of satisfaction to know that he was killed. This is definitely the first time I've ever felt that way.

What's worse, it's kind of horrifying to be part of the crowd. I'm disgusted at my own reaction, but find that such a reaction is socially acceptable. Usually I'm the one feeling the opposite of the crowd. (You know, like that time we started a war in Iraq and I thought it was a bad idea and all about oil; in return for my differing opinion, many called me un-American and told me to move out of the country.)

This time, I'm cheering along with the very same people who told me that, and it has to make me think twice about whether it's right to celebrate someone's death -- even if it is al-Qaida's elusive bogeyman.

My Generation

Many of the citizens celebrating in front of the White House are college students. I was a college student on September 11, 2001. I think about how much has changed since then. I'm 30 years old. Osama Bin Laden has literally affected one-third of my life.

While I will never think that the world is free from terrorism, it feels good to know that the bad guy doesn't always win, and that's crucial in keeping my generation from becoming eternally cynical. After all, we're already overeducated and many of us are jobless or have a jobless partner.

National Security

Seeing all of those people cheer made me wonder about retaliation. Terrorist activity and attempts will no likely face an increase; this is probably one reason why the president and his advisers decided to delay the release of this news. The military and many local emergency services seem to have been put on alert prior to the announcement.

While I know that killing Bin Laden created a morale boost for America when we really seem to need it, I wonder about future attacks.