"Let them know the Wicked Witch is dead."

I've been lazy about checking American news, but I happened to pop onto NYTimes.com before work yesterday. I almost didn't know that OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD, in spite of that being the only topic for American new sources.

As an American, I know I'm expected to feel something about his killing. It seems anti-climactic to me though. Perhaps because it took 10 years. Or, because I'm half a world away from the places that it matters. In Korea, no one cares. Or at least, I don't know that they care because of the language barrier and the fact that I've put my TV in my closet. I'm an apathetic American at this moment. If I feel anything, it's mild disgust.

The way the media is projecting this, the way our president speaks of this "mission", it's very political stunty and a little bit slimy. Obama is trying to win an election so I understand why he wants to hype this up. Seriously though, check out how many times he says "I" in this clip: http://youtu.be/K8j8LpwDo7Q

If Obama didn't win the popular vote in the last 48 hours I'll be surprised, although I don't think he deserves it for this reason.

I hate that this is another excuse to confuse terrorists and the entire Islamic faith. However PC people pretend to be their still making ignorant comments and fearing fellow Americans who happen to be Muslim. I've seen so many misguided Facebook statuses today that I've stopped looking at the News Feed.

I have only seen glimpses of the aftermath of this announcement but I haven't liked what I've seen. There is no question that Bin Laden was a bad man, did terrible things, and even deserved to die. I wonder, though, if dancing in the streets really an appropriate reaction to his death. Isn't it  little gross to rejoice in the death of another human being even if he is an enemy? Shouldn't this news be taken with sober relief or just acceptance? I can't say for certain, but the that fact that I question it makes me think there is something wrong here.

I can understand a joyful reaction from people who lost loved ones on 9/11 or who have been risking their lives in uniform to find this man. I imagine it's a kind of closure for them, and I don't begrudge them that. I don't mean to belittle this for those who have been affected by Bin Laden's actions and directions. However, to see people that I went to school with in the mid-west, people who haven't followed the story for 10 years, who can only give the barest details about what the American War on Terror is about, people who have only felt the impact of the entire conflict at airport security making this into a personal victory just rubs me the wrong way.

I understand that a man is to be excited by the successes of his country in spite of his direct involvement. Patriotism and all that.  But we didn't win the war. One man is dead but there are still hundreds of Americans risking their lives on foreign soil everyday. It's not over. And I don't feel certain that anyone is any safer than they were two days ago.  I wonder, is the average American truly excited by this one man's death or are they actually excited that there is something else to talk about besides the economy?

Again, this is my perspective from my tiny apartment in Ulsan, South Korea where all is quiet and the closest encounter with a terrorist is that annoying dog that lives next door. Well, there's Kim Jong-Il too but South Koreans don't take him seriously either. My isolation has perhaps skewed my vision a bit. I don't pretend to be super informed on this subject. This is what I've been thinking about as I've been researching it over that past couple of days. What do you think? Tell me what it looks like from your side of the screen.