There is something truly moving about the way this crowd came together near Ground Zero in the wee hours after the announcement of Osama's death. People of all walks of life gathered together, and the trivial matters which usually keep us widely separated seemed to fade. That, itself, is a beautiful thing.
But what exactly are we celebrating?
Yes, bin Laden was the head of a terrorist organization. Yes, he was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Yes, he deserved to die. He did not, however, begin the entire concept of terrorism. Terrorism did not live and breathe inside one man, and it did not die with that man. As long as the underlying social causes which birth terrorism still exist, there will always be more killing, more tragedy, more contenders. Killing this one man in retaliation for the events of 9/11 is justified, but celebrating like we've actually resolved anything is naive.
We look like children. Bratty children who boast and gloat and rub it in when we defeat an opponent.
This is the equivalent to running a 10 lap race and stopping after winning the first lap to dance while our opponent catches up, passes us, then throws a smirk over his shoulder while we eat his dust.
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