...INTO THE FIRE

I don't go looking for trouble which is why you'll find me sitting on the fence most of the time.  But in the spirit of personal growth, I've decided to go out on a limb with this post.  You see, I'm conflicted.  I don't even know how to put it without totally pissing somebody off so I'll just say it: Bin Laden's death was severely anticlimactic for me.  And the reaction of my fellow countrymen has me...well, for lack of a better word...disturbed.

Pissed?  You can stop reading now, I understand.  Really, I do.

I thought I would be jumping up and down when Justice finally rolled up.  Instead, I just sat there on the bed with my mouth hanging open and a giant question mark bouncing around in my head.  Really?  He's dead?  Killed?  Taken out?  Completely and totally gone? 

Huh.

Maybe I would have felt differently
had he been caught in 2002, 2003 or even 2004. 

Maybe I would have felt differently
had I known someone who had been killed on September 11.

Maybe I would have felt differently
had my brother, cousin or friend been serving in our military.

Those are some pretty big maybes.  But yeah, maybe.

None of the above applied to me so I really can't say.  And I do think it would have been a game changer, at least for this fence sitter.  That said, it still doesn't change how I feel now.  So how do I put it out there?  How do I explain what I can't even articulate?  The only thing that comes to mind are more questions; questions that have kept me up these past few nights.

How does the rest of the world perceive the USA in light of this news? 

Are we heroes for killing that madman or are we once again the big Bullies who make their own rules?
What do these flag waving celebratory ovations splashed across the media really show? 
Did we fall from any point of grace (if there is such a place); playing out the final hand just as the radical (Muslim?) world swore we would?

I guess the bigger question still, at least for me anyway, is this: how does the death of one avenge the death of thousands?

I've said way too much and now I'm shitting my pants as that little white arrow hovers precariously over PUBLISH POST. 

You've listened politely.  And for that I thank you. 
I'm ready now to do the same.

[gasp]