Scary World

As you've no doubt heard/read/seen by now, Osama Bin Laden was killed by the US military.  There were a lot of reactions and a lot to process on Sunday night.  But basically it seemed like a lot of people found closure.  After everything had settled Erin and I talked about what this meant to us and our world.  We knew that a terrible man was gone and couldn't harm anyone else, but we couldn't decide if it made us or the world any safer.

I don't care how big picture you look at the world; having kids expands it significantly.  I knew there were bad people in the world that wanted to hurt me, but I figured that I'd be okay.  I thought that maybe one day we'd get the bad guys, and we wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.  Now I worry about the people that want to do harm to others (namely the US) because there are two little ones in my life that need my protection.   I'm not just responsible for myself anymore.  I have to be selfless, and I would do anything to protect them from harm.  There are unfortunately things that I can't protect them from.  Namely fear.  I actually fear them constantly being scared.

My girls and the children of the next generation shouldn't have to live in a world where fear and hatred dominate the news cycle.  There shouldn't be multiple threat levels to worry them.  They shouldn't have to fear someone wanting to hurt them simply because of where they were born.  They should welcome others no matter what god they pray to, and the others should do the same.  They shouldn't have to continue to pay for our mistakes and the mistakes of the generations before us.  It may be an overly simplistic view of things, but I can't think of a better gift to give my girls.  They don't deserve a broken world.  They don't deserve to have their innocence ripped away from them.

I do think the world is a better place with Bin Laden not in it.  It is one less terrible person that didn't respect human life.  But I don't think the death of Bin Laden has gotten us any closer to the world I envision for my girls.  Someone will try to fill his footsteps, and there will be plenty more waiting in line behind whomever does.  It is a sad truth, but I hope that someday we run out of those hateful people.  I hope there are people all over the world that just want the same thing for their children.  I hope that we're not the only parents teaching our children to love their fellow man (and woman).  That will be the day when the world that I've dreamt of for my girls will become a reality.

I just want them to live in a happier world