Historic events happen in the middle of normal life. You were in your car driving from work; you were sitting around and happened to flip to a news channel. Although developing global stories and events might signal momentous points in our history, the exact instant – the very second our lives are changed concretely – is not easy to predict.
Sunday night’s news of Osama bin Laden’s killing had a similar effect, placing us in our historically insignificant but personally magnified vantage points as a global event developed. And beyond merely hearing about the news through a text or a tweet, we all positioned our perspectives in the context of our personal histories. Where were we when 9/11 happened? What was our feeling then? How did we interpret what was happening? How did it change us? How are we to react now that bin Laden is out of our lives?
Although 9/11 incited feelings both of collective national sorrow and fear for our country’s future safety in the global scene, it also reenergized patriotism, uniting America in the mutual process of healing and reflecting. Although our political goals were often different, we knew what we felt and we shared those feelings nationally in distant harmony.
Having observed the news as it developed, as well as having witnessed public reaction to the news of bin Laden’s killing, it has become obvious to us that Sunday’s events have sparked unity among some, though with a different character than our initial post-9/11 sameness.
For many, hearing the news inspired calls to parents and friends. Discussions on Facebook and Twitter were imbued with the nostalgia of the past, if not with the mere relief that bin Laden was finally dead. Some filled the streets of Greektown, others vicariously witnessed similar events in other cities. We shared _The New York Times_ picture of FDNY workers reading the news of bin Laden’s death and reveled in its reassuring significance. We felt it together.
But it would be inaccurate to characterize responses to bin Laden’s death as wholly unified. Although those in Greektown raised American flags and cheered with ebullient vitality, others, responding in conversation or online, questioned the nature of the celebration. Was it appropriate for us to be celebrating a death? What were we supposed to be feeling?
We aren’t interested in condemning people for being happy, relieved or even celebratory about Sunday’s events. Conversations about what was and wasn’t appropriate about what unfolded after the news broke have been heated and divisive, and we aren’t advocating for any right way to feel or respond to bin Laden’s death.
However, we can’t help but feel conflicted now that a day has passed. Whether we reflected on our foreign policy or drank a beer to Toby Keith, it now has occurred to us that we share the responsibility of figuring out where to move forward.
Bin Laden’s death is certainly a morale boost and a symbolic moment after decades of terrorism and atrocity. But it is certainly not the end of the war and certainly not the end of the arduous task of being away from home for our troops. Families still have holes; soldiers still live every day with a question mark on their future in the war.
Moreover, it’s by no means closure for those who observe global conflict; bin Laden does not equate to al-Qaida, a force in the world that hasn’t dissolved. We still find ourselves in conflict and it would be inappropriate to pretend otherwise.
Moving forward, we need to see this moment as a refocusing point in our history of conflict. We need to use our energy, positive or negative, to reconsider our objectives in the war, to question the impact this event can have in our lives.
We’ve had our night. We’ve had our opportunity to let our emotional responses run uninhibited. Now’s the time to ask questions, to challenge the notion that this war has no end. Families need it, our economic stability needs it, our country needs it.
Don’t waste your energy, and most of all, don’t waste this opportunity to affect change in the course of our country’s history.
