USAMA BIN LADIN IS DEAD
LONG LIVE AMERICA!
I take the 10 commandments seriously so I feel a twinge of guilt as I, along with the rest of the United States, celebrate Usama Bin Ladin's violent demise yesterday. But the twinge is easily swished away by the pride I feel that the USA could perform such a difficult job in less than an hour without the deaths of many civilians.
I heard the news late last night and tuned to CNN so I could stay abreast of what was happening. What a wonderful sight I saw as people, mostly young adults, gathered in front of the White House to cheer and wave flags and then actually begin to sing our impossibly-difficult-to-sing National Anthem. There was no hint of this news in advance for public relations people to take advantage of, so I believe these wonderful displays of patriotism arose spontaneously.
I had another surge of pride this morning as I tuned into Morning Joe and saw a clip of students at The Ohio State University jumping into the campus pond to celebrate. I also saw crowds in Times Square but the OSU students made me smile and my chest puff out since that university is my alma mater.
I thought you might find interesting the following dialogue I had this afternoon while standing in line at the Bristol post office:
Old Gent (my age) ahead of me called over to one of the PO clerks who was actually busy with another customer: "Hey, have you got the stamp yet of Obama with the hole in his eye?"
PO Clerk: No, he has to be dead 10 years before you can get your picture on a stamp.
Me, totally confused and bursting with curiousity as to why this gent would think there was a picture of Obama with a hole in his eye. Addressing my question to him: What did you say? A hole in his eye--on a stamp?
Old Gent: Oh, he was killed last night. They shot him in the head, right through the eye.
Me: Oh, you're talking about Bin Ladin.
OG: Yeah. Osama Bin Ladin.
Me: (quietly) You said Obama.
OG: Did I? I probably did. As far as I'm concerned, they're both the same.
Me: (shocked) Oh, no, come on now.
OG: Yeah, What's so good about him? I didn't vote for him.
Me: (I lost it here and my memory of exactly what was said is gone. I'll make it up the best I can recall.) Well, I did. He's done a good job.
OG: Well, who killed him? Who actually fired the shot?
Me: Navy Seals is what I heard.
OG: How do you know they even got Bin Ladin? That's just what they're telling us. Why did they drop him into the sea?
Me: They didn't want a place where his followers could erect a monument to him.
OG: That's what they say. That's what they tell us. They don't tell us the truth. How do we know it's him?
Me: They've got his DNA. (Blank look from OG) And lots of pictures.
OG: Well, they can be faked.
Me: Oh, you are cynical.
OG: You can't believe 'em.
Me: I believe 'em.
OG: Why?
Me: You have to have some hope. If you don't have hope, you'll get too depressed.
OG: Well, then why didn't he show us his birth certificate?
I breathed a sigh of frustration and relief when the OG moved to the head of the line and the PO clerk called, "Next."
This is why politicians have to spend so much money--to speak louder and more convincingly to overcome stubbornness, cynicism, and ignorance
