“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> Through a surgical military strike led by the nation’s first African-American commander in chief, justice has been served with the death of Osama bin Laden. Upon hearing the code word “Geronimo” – the Native American who fought against invaders to his land – President Obama learned that the man who had chosen the wrong means to fight invaders to his land had been put to death.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> There is a relieving sense of closure with bin Laden’s demise, but I sense that in what he would call his “martyrdom” he feels the same for accomplishing his mission of bringing an empire close to collapse. In the blink of an eye, he made a proud democracy turn on its seven million Muslims citizens, branding and stereotyping them all as “suspects,” and made the nation turn away from its founding principle of religious freedom, with movements to ban mosques proliferating under the guise of patriotism.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> He lured our nation into attacking his enemy, Saddam Hussein, costing us lives, worldwide respect, moral standing and a wrecked economy. He caused politicians, in order to stir up fear and votes, to propagandize that his war against us was because Muslims hated American values, rather than because of our having military bases in Muslim countries and supporting Israel over the Palestinians.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> He caused this nation to project him as the face of Islam, revealing the ignorance and prejudice and bigotry that we thought this nation had put behind with the Civil Rights Movement.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> Osama bin Laden’s death is not a time for celebration. It’s a time for the nation to repair the damage he has done in causing our country’s mistreatment of Muslim citizens, a religious faith and the Constitution.
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