I echo the thanks for your well thought and under-represented outlook, Deborah.

One of the reasons I hadn't spoiken up more about the issues you describe is that I was actually struggling to articulate exactly what it was that bothered me about the celebrations of Bin Laden's death. I think your one sentence tweet helped me to that clarity, and is perfect for that medium. Mikes response above also gives me further clarity on my own opinion of things.

I do not mourn Bin Laden's death. I do not feel badly that he is dead. I do not wish that he was taken alive, nor did I have a prior preference that he not be. That they found him was the most important thing. His death is largely a symbolic one, but that does not take away the significance of it. I do worry that he has now become a martyr to his cause, which may in fact make him even more dangerous than he was alive.

Part of me despairs about the outright celebrations of this turn of events as a comment on the fabric of our society. It is for the same primary reason I am against the death penalty that I think I am troubled by this: we cannot compartmentalize so easily the spilling of blood. That we are desensitized to it enough to cheer executions, by brave Special Ops or by our government, is a statement on us as a people.

Carl Jung said that "you alweays become the thing you fight the most." These are certainly words to keep in the forefront of our minds during these times in which we live.