By Chase Stevens ’12
THE ROUNDUP

Public enemy No. 1 is dead.

On May 2, U.S. Navy Seals assaulted the compound that Osama bin Laden was living in and killed him.

Many saw it as a victory against terrorism. For the families of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, they felt closure.

After the death of bin Laden was announced, people stormed the White House gates in Washington, D.C. as well as Times Square in New York City to celebrate.

But is this a cause for celebration?

Watching Americans cheering on the death of an enemy seemed eerily similar to people in Palestine celebrating the Sept. 11 attacks.

While the death of the leader of al-Qaeda is not necessarily a bad event, it does not mean that we need to be joyous about it.

When serial killers are executed, there aren’t parties in the streets over the end of their lives.

That would be tasteless and inhumane.

Instead of filling the streets and partying over someone’s death, we should move on.

We need to see the death of bin Laden as a necessary action to protect the citizens of the United States, but not as a major victory.

Not only that, but there are many people able to replace bin Laden as the leader of al-Qaeda. He was not the sole leader of the group.

If we continue to party, celebrate and be joyous over the death of our enemies, what separates us from the people in the Middle East who cheer on the death of innocent American citizens who perished on Sept. 11?