How the Royal Wedding, Patriotism, Social Media Defined My Reaction to Bin Laden's Death

COMMENTARY | Throughout the day as I was driving across the states, I kept hearing bits and pieces of news. There were rumors that Gadhalfi had been killed in Libya during some air strikes, or perhaps even his son. So when I got home and hopped on Facebook before bed and heard President Obama had a big announcement, that was my first guess. Instead, I was excited to hear that Osama bin Laden has been killed.

Royal Wedding Connection

The United States has been using drones to hunt down bin Laden for years, only to have him escape every time. President Obama finally collected enough intelligence to find out precisely where bin Laden was hiding. At one point, CNN reported on live TV that some of the clinching intelligence was gathered April 28, as the world was busy watching the royal wedding.

Perhaps there was enough distraction of sorts to allow for some of that intelligence to be gained. That is when Obama decided it was time to go forward with this operation. He gave the orders Sunday.

Unity

Obama brought unity back to Washington, D.C., during his speech as he reiterated how he was picking up where Bush left off. When he took office, he made the hunt for bin Laden a number one priority. He also echoed Bush's sentiments that we are not now, nor never were, at war with Islam. This has been a war on terrorism across the board. It has nothing to do with the religion itself. From a political standpoint, this has also never been a Republican hunt, nor a Democratic hunt, but an American mission for justice.

Troops have claimed the body. U.S. officials pledge to keep the Islamic faith in mind as they prepare to handle the body. This is another way in which we are trying to maintain unity with the Muslim people.

Unity has also been reflected in the mass celebrations taking place outside the White House and at Ground Zero. Crowds are chanting "USA! USA! USA!" and breaking into renditions of "God Bless the USA" and "The Star-Spangled Banner." Patriotism is finally returning to the American people as they rejoice in a sense of some closure.

Social Media

Social media facilitated the sense of unity and patriotism being seen all across the United States. People were called to these gathering points as information started to be released. Some people had no idea the announcement was coming, and were just hopping on for one last peek at Facebook or Twitter before going to bed. Many people are going to answer the question of "Where were you when you found out Osama bin Laden was killed?" with the answer "Facebook!"

Inevitable debates and false information will unfortunately also be rampant over the next several days. Responsible users will need to carefully check their sources before posting or sharing information.