May 1, at 11:35 p.m. President Barack Obama announced that after 10 years of searching, Osama bin Laden was killed in an operation led by U.S. Navy SEALs. Bin Laden’s death was certainly a surprise to the American people. That night led the majority of our people into two conflicting states of mind: national pride and confusion.
On one hand, the President expressed in his address, “The leader of Al Quaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children,” had been removed from this earth forever. On the other hand, cable and local news viewers, Twitter followers and Americans all over the country were asking numerous questions all at once.
“What does this mean in terms of the war?” “When will our troops come home?” “How will this affect our national security?” “Who is responsible?” The list continues, and rightfully so. An event as colossal as this, naturally conjures a genesis of the six major question words—who, what, when, where, why and how.
At the announcement of bin Laden’s death, the media, especially the television news circuits, took a rightful detour from its usual partisan obsessed broadcasts. True journalism took precedence during the early hours of the story’s reveal and remained this way for a while. The facts were simply delivered. Unfortunately as the story developed, some of these aforementioned questions deviated from the central focus of the nation’s historic victory. As soon as the next day, broadcasts slipped back into their comfort zones of finger-pointing, proof-demanding-country-dividing hysteria.
While some naysayers demanded a death photo as confirmation of the slain enemy, others deemed the event as yet another “defining moment” for Obama’s presidency. And while our Commander in Chief’s approval rating was busy making a considerable double digit jump, pundits were discussing how this victory would affect Obama’s chances for success in the upcoming election.
To state the facts simply, in a world where Photoshop’s power is comparable to that of DC Comic’s Superman, a corpse’s photo will never satisfy the doubts of one who is unwilling to believe the truth. And while bin Laden’s indelible death will be recorded in our grandchildren’s history books, how significant is it that we focus on approval ratings or try to predict the outcomes of the near election? Yes, the question of who will lead our country is always important. Please, exercise your right to vote, take advantage of our freedoms in democracy and voice your opinion. But should the emphasis be set on who leads us out of these tough times, or should it be more emphatic that we get out of this national rut regardless of who gets the credit?
Our nation is hurting and the fact that a 10 year, war-ridden journey may or may not come to a stop is a big deal. Perhaps now is the time to reject our natural inclination to berate one another and come together as a nation; congratulate the bravery of the SEALs who protected our country. After all, we owe our lives to these people. They are the reason for our security. Now isn’t the time for soapbox speeches about democrats versus republicans or conservatives versus liberals. Now is the time to thank our service men and women for protecting our country and making it possible for us to have the luxury of pursuing our passions at an art school. Who knows, maybe this could be the start of the end of this war. Maybe, finally, our troops can come back home.
