Proud to be an American

Like most of you, I woke up this morning to the news of Bin Laden’s death. Like most of you, I had not forgotten him but his existence was not in the forefront of my mind. I realized that I had come to the belief that his death or capture no longer mattered as much. I was wrong!
I still don’t think that his being alive or dead will have much of an effect on worldwide terrorism. It has grown too big for that. What I underestimated was the effect that his death caused would have on me and my fellow citizens. I didn’t know how right it would feel.
The leader of our country in 2011 threw the gauntlet down when he vowed that we would never give up no matter how long it would take. I remember thinking as I watched him that most of us had no idea how long that would be even though he warned us in that speech. The leader of our country in 2011 picked up that gauntlet and continued the fight. The message to the rest of the world is clear- we will never give up!
It was a perfect operation. It’s going to make a great movie. It would have made a fantastic season of 24. It was perfect because after 10 years of waiting it only took 40 minutes to complete. It was perfect because a small well trained U.S. force took down an entire fortress. It was perfect because instead of being bombed to smithereens, Bin Laden was shot and his body collected and identified. It was perfect because his body was buried at sea leaving no grave to honor or to desecrate. It was a perfect non ending for an egomaniac. The only thing missing was the timing- it should have happened on September 11th.
But it has reminded us that no matter how we might fight among ourselves (much like siblings), we will still stick up for one another when someone from the outside tries to attack. That is why we are called the United States of America. When push comes to shove, we are more united than we are divided. Our differences are less than our similarities. We are parents, children, spouses, grandparents, friends and neighbors. We work hard, we play hard, we love hard. We worship as we want or not. We are Americans and proud to be so.
That’s the view from my side of the street today, what’s yours?