This article that I wrote in 2011 was published in Magnificat: a journal of undergraduate nonfiction at Marymount University when I was a student there.

On September 11th, 2001, I stood in the Pentagon as the room around me was engulfed in flames. The shock of that event and the deaths of 26 of my coworkers are with me most days of my life. I feel the pain of injury suffered that day, I feel the terror of what I saw, and I feel the loss of close friends and colleagues.

Last night, I sat and waited for President Obama to announce to the world that American forces had killed Osama bin Laden. This was a direct and fair response to his orchestration of the events of what we now refer to as 9/11.

This morning, as I sit with my morning coffee and watch the nation’s reaction,  I find myself feeling less than elated. I know that Osama bin Laden earned his death. I know that President Obama has taken a step to make the world safer with his actions.   As a former soldier, I know the dedication and hard work put in by those who slew bin Laden should be lauded. I have no real qualms with the actions of the President or those serving in our military. But the reaction of the American people troubles me.

I am watching a news clip of a young girl, maybe 4 or 5, standing in a cheering crowd; she is waving a sign that says, “Yaay — Osama is dead.”  And I can’t help but notice the similarities to the many newscasts from over the last ten years.  News clips where I watched some group of people in some distant land applaud a setback to our nation or loss of American lives. Yes, the picture is more colorful, with the red, white, and blue waving in every corner of the screen. But if I added some sand and earth tones, it would look like all those broadcasts that actually made me angry to feel so despised by people I had never even met.

My nerves begin to build as I anticipate the political infighting to come, as the President will surely come under fire from his opposition. I am sure they will find some flaw with his action to spin in their favor. It will be months of politicians trying to stir the public to greater like or dislike of one candidate or the other. Proof will be sought, and any proof given will not be enough.

Diplomacy is often called our first and best line of defense. But I have never seen a crowd spontaneously break out and cheer a peaceful resolution. I have never seen a child with a sign that read, “yaay — no one died.”   I wonder if diplomacy is considered the best line of defense because it works or because of what it could make us if it works.

I watch that young girl and ask myself, “Is the world getting any better?”  I asked myself what we, as people, were saying to that young child. What are we saying to our allies and enemies across the globe? Surely we are saying we are not to be trifled with? But are we also saying we can revel in death as much as any of those we oppose?  Are we saying we can stoop to your level?