Pilcrow

On the Sk8J forum, someone asked for people's thoughts on the news of Osama bin Laden's death at the hands of a United States team sent to capture or kill him. I wrote some out, and thought that would make a good post for today. I'm expanding a bit on some of them, too.

First, I'm mildly surprised. I'd simply stopped thinking about Osama bin Laden, and while I can't say that I believed it would never happen, I also can't say I ever expected it would happen.

Second, as I posted on Facebook already, my immediate reaction was to start imagining how the Republican/neo-conservative camp would try to spin this to make President Obama look bad—why did it take him so long, why is he focused on that instead of the economy, et cetera ad nauseam. The corollary reaction was to realize I'm more sour on American politics than I was aware. And to my more-conservative friends, yes, I'm sure the Democrats and liberals have been equally quick to seek political points to score against Republican presidents in the past when those presidents have had some accomplishment to announce. 

Third, I do think it's a worthy blow in our defense—and the defense of the world—and a fitting end, that we were able to send our own team in to capture or kill him and succeed at that goal. Capture, trial, and imprisonment (or execution) would have been nice if possible, but I'm not sure it would've been any more meaningful. 

Fourth, in much the same way that at a certain point the question was no longer whether Obama could be elected president but how well we as a nation would be able to move forward and recover from our messes under his direction, I think the question at this point is how we as a nation will move forward in handling issues of terrorism and security, here at home and abroad. Or in other words, although finally killing Osama bin Laden is a good achievement and worth some celebration, it only highlights the greater problems we've been struggling with in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. 

Finally, another friend's reaction on Facebook was to say "I can't say I'm sorry he's dead." That prompted me to wonder whether there's anyone out there in the world who is truly sincerely grieving for the death of Osama bin Laden the person—not the terrorist organizer or religious-political crusader, perhaps, depending on your point of view, but the father, brother, uncle, or friend he may have been. I do not mourn him, and I do not blame anyone for hating him. But at some point he was a human person, and it may be better to pity that lost opportunity of the human he could have been than to glory in the destruction of the monster he became.

"I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor’s bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.

"There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

"What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

"Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too."

—President-Elect Barack Obama, November 5, 2008

Listen to (and watch) the entire speech