Decorum

When I first heard the news that Bin Laden was dead, my first thought was, "Please, not by natural causes".  I watched as the President spoke, then as people began to appear at the gates of the White House.  I grew more uncomfortable, the longer I watched.

Make no mistake.  The man had to die, and he had to die by our hand.  But the death of any man, no matter how necessary or justified, is no cause for celebration.  We didn't win a football game.  We took a human life.  There's a difference.

For those who live in New York, or DC, I can understand their expression of relief.  Jon Stewart said, "I'm way too close to the situation to be rational."  That is eminently forgivable.  Especially when one goes back and watches the first episode of the Daily Show after 9/11.  While his words were eloquent, his eyes spoke most of the pain we all felt.

In some ways Bin Laden has held us all hostage for the last decade, and the damage he did to this country will take generations to undo.  Some of may even be permanent.

But at some point, grief and rage must give way to reason and humanity.  A lot of blood has been shed to get us to this point, and this time should be used to remember those who fought for us, and along side us.

An inherent risk when fighting evil, is that of becoming your enemy.  My love for my country, and my faith in my fellow man, says that we are better than this.

I admit, my heart is often broken.  But as Bob Marley said, "Everyone hurts you.  You just need to find the ones worth suffering for."

I think we're all worth it.