Whenever the President ends a speech with “God bless you and God bless the United States of America” I get a little choked up. It doesn’t matter the President. I think the reasons behind my emotions differ depending on the situation, but choking up is a given.
I love this country. I am extremely proud to be from the United States of America. I feel very fortunate to have been born and raised in the USA. I’ve had opportunities that my ancestors did not. I have rights and privileges that so many women around the world do not. I’ve driven across the US seven times and every time new beautiful places and people reveal themselves to me. Camping in the desert, climbing the Rocky Mountains, diving into the Atlantic Ocean, canoeing through the Everglades, jogging along the path that borders Lake Michigan...the beauty and diversity in this country is overwhelming. The diversity in music and food and people and humor and accents…I love it all.
I am proud of our President. I am proud of our soldiers. I am proud of the CIA. I am proud of all those who carried out the dangerous mission to kill Osama bin Laden.
I am not proud of the scenes of people celebrating Bin Laden’s death outside the White House like their team just won the Super Bowl. There is a big difference between recognizing that justice was served and celebrating violence and murder. I recognize that given the state of the world, it was necessary to kill Osama bin Laden. I accept that we need to invest in our military. But I don’t like it. I will never like it. I hope for a world where peace is a reality.
The celebrations seem to oversimplify a very complicated issue. May 1, 2011 was certainly a historic day. I hope that those who lost loved ones in 9/11 experience a sense of justice being served. But having to resort to murdering someone is never a good thing. This “war on terror” remains far from over. Young soldiers are still being deployed to Afghanistan on a regular basis. We are still at war in numerous countries- those that are publicized and those that never get mentioned.
Last night I stared at the TV in a stupor and didn’t know how I felt. It brought me back to the stupor I felt while watching the news on 9/11/01. This world is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people. What are we doing? How did we get to this? What can I do with my one precious life to contribute to the world being a better place?
Last night I lay in bed and thought about my day. It was a particularly great day. The weather was absolutely perfect. I ran a 5k with a group of friends which was followed up with a delicious brunch. Felt great and laughed a lot. Ran some errands. Took a really satisfying nap. Went to see a friend’s sketch comedy show. A perfect spring Sunday. I thought about how while I was going about my great day, there were people across the world carrying out a mission to kill Osama bin Laden. What were they thinking? How were they feeling? Will we support them when they come home or will they, like so many vets, live on the street suffering through PTSD, pushing a shopping cart of all their worldly belongings? I hope they went to sleep feeling proud. And safe.
I wondered what the family members of those lost in 9/11 were feeling. Did this make them feel happy? Satisfied? Relieved? What about the civilians in Pakistan? How do they feel when they see the celebrations? Are they celebrating with us? What about Muslim Americans? Are they scared for their safety?
Osama bin Laden was a human. Just like me. That absolutely terrifies me. I wish it were so simple to say that some people are just born evil but I don’t think it works like that. Evil thoughts and behaviors are learned. The majority of sexual predators were sexually abused at some point. The majority of serial killers have experienced extreme trauma. I’m not justifying these behaviors in ANY way. But, if we want terrorism to stop, for real, than we need to think about the root causes. Killing Osama bin Laden may have been necessary but we have so much further to go. Watching the cheers and hearing the fireworks makes it painfully obvious just how far.
I am disgusted by the things I hear said about Muslims. Absolutely disgusted. First of all, it’s ignorance at its finest. Second, it’s putting us in greater danger. Third, it’s another fine example of hate begetting hate.
It’s scary and exciting how we all come into this world equally clueless and given our family and friends and experiences, we figure out for ourselves what is right and wrong. As our country moves past the historic day of May 1, 2011, I pray that all American citizens, our leadership included, think seriously about what is right and what is wrong. I pray that we are proud to be Americans because we are living lives of honor and kindness and compassion. I pray that we are proud because we are doing what is right for all human beings from all countries regardless of religion or skin color or sexual orientation or gender.
I pray that God bless us and that God bless the United States of America.
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