American Dignity

As I read comment after comment on my home page about the death of Osama Bin Laden, I am torn.  Where did our dignity go?  There were quips about his being fish food (yes, I was one), about the preparation of his body for burial at sea, how reverently his remains had been handled.

My first thought when I heard of his death was fish bait.

After sleeping on that thought, I knew I was wrong.  Yes, the misfit was responsible for the death of innocents.  No, a trial would accomplish nothing except to have given him a longer, protected life.  No, I am not sorry he is dead.

 If he had kept on, if his body had been turned over to his people--he would have been resurrected somehow as a savior or a martyr.  His million dollar shack would have been turned into a shrine.  Our SEALS did what they had to do.

What disturbs me is our reaction to OBL's death.  As Americans we value human life.  The worst among us are treated humanely whether as prisoners of war or hardened criminals.  Vermin like OBL and his cohorts do not value human life, unless it is their own.  They use others to make themselves larger.  No sacrifice is too great for a terrorist leader--unless it is his own life.

The more I think about it, the more I see the sense in how the SEALS disposed of the carcass.  It showed strength of character that they did not desecrate it.  It showed courage that they offered him surrender. It showed American pride that they handled the remains with a modicum of dignity.

Let us never forget that we are Americans.  We treat others with respect even if they don't deserve it.  We are the greatest people in the greatest nation on earth.  Rejoice in that.

So OBL is dead.  Good riddance.  I rejoice that one less terrorist is alive to torment us. I applaud our military for their courage and efficiency.  I wonder if we are celebrating too much.