Death of Osama bin Laden

My first reaction was skepticism. Did our guys really get him? Is this a political stunt? As the coverage mounted, it started to dawn on me that the monster that had haunted the dreams of every American since 9/11/01 was actually dead. I didn't feel elated, but I was pleased. This must have been how it felt to get the news that Hitler was dead. I had students who did not even know who he was. They asked why people were celebrating his death. I tried to explain to them what it had been like for those of us who remember 9/11. To see people leap to their death to avoid burning alive. To watch helplessly, as your country is attacked. To think about the everyday people on that flight who decided to give up the rest of their lives for their country and countrymen. The fear that gripped the nation in the following weeks, wondering when and where the next attack would come. I don't think I can ever properly communicate those experiences. I don't think anyone can. In the end, the man who billed himself as the great leader of the war against "The Great Satan" died a coward hiding behind his wife as our soldiers sought vengeance and justice for their slain countrymen. A fitting end. A small part of the evil that was in the world is now gone. And the world is a better place for it.