When I first heard the news about Osama Bin Laden, I felt relieved. It was as if, for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001, America could sit back on the couch, put her feet up, and just breathe. We had finally done what we set out to do.

But as images of people celebrating in New York and Washington D.C. flooded the TV screen, I couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. As I watched the newscast, someone in the room said, “They should take his body and drag it through the streets of New York. Let the people do what they want with it.”

That felt a little contradictory to me.

Let me explain. Osama Bin Laden was many things. He was a terrorist, a mass murderer, a proponent of a toxic and destructive worldview. But as proven by the bullet through his left eye, he was also something we don’t like to admit – just a human being.

And why don’t we drag the bodies of our human enemies through the streets? Because it’s damn wrong.
Isn’t the value of human life how we here in America separate our good guys from our bad guys? We’re not the ones who flew planes into two buildings full of innocent civilians. We don’t behead reporters from enemy countries, and we don’t drag the bodies of fallen soldiers behind pickup trucks.

It’s the American values and strength of character that make us proud to be American. It’s American to look after our own. It’s American to protect the weak. It’s American to respect the views of others, even if they’re not necessarily the viewpoints we hold to be true ourselves. It’s not American to execute captured soldiers, and it’s not American to treat their bodies with disrespect.

So why should we spend the biggest American victory in years being un-American? Let’s not get away with ourselves. This isn’t a high school football victory. It’s the end of a reign of bloodshed. While terrorism may not be dead, I’d certainly dare the next terrorist leader to step up.

The fact that the Obama administration took the body of the nation’s most despised man and give him a respectful sea-burial is inspiring. If we can go to war, do what needs to be done, but at the end of the day remain respectful and civil – I’d say that’s an enormous milestone for humanity as a whole.

So yeah, it was a victory. Ten years ago, George W. Bush promised the world that America would have justice for the crimes committed on Sept. 11, 2011. Despite two administrations, two wars (and one not-war in Libya), and ten years of political bickering, that promise was kept. We’ve shown the world that when it comes to our friends and our family – you don’t mess with us.

But while we’re busy repairing the damage Bin Laden did, let’s not forget who we are.
[email protected]