Osama Bin Laden’s Greatest Wish

What America needs to understand is that killing Osama bin Laden helped him achieve his greatest wish. He became a martyr for his cause.

Imagine being stuck in a 10 x 10 room, afraid to go outside for years on end; trapped in your own prison of fear, hate and terror, slowly dying of disease, being aged beyond your years. Hunted without end with your greatest goal many years behind you. Trying desperately to maintain control of an organization that you built and knowing every day that the end was just around the corner. There is a point where death is the desire. And to be killed by your enemies is a greatest compliment of them all. Osama bin Laden reached the pinnacle of his power only to feel it slip away from him.

Yes, America celebrated his death, but at the same time Osama bin Laden was reaching for it himself. In a sense he reached the pinnacle of the time trapped in his hate only to see the Arab of the world around him overthrow the old ways. The young people began reaching for new way of life that combines honoring their religion and moving forward in the New World.

Osama bin Laden is the greatest representative of the past life. He was trapped in his religious fundamentalism to the point where reaching for other possibilities was beyond his grasp. As he was looking out, the Arab world changed around him. A new generation reached for power, choice, freedom, and democracy.

In any society there are those that fear change. Any sign of movement forward evokes fear and terror for themselves and their closed off believes. As we let go of the age of terror we need to understand that opportunity is what people are longing for. It doesn't matter if the terrorist is Arab or Christian, Jewish or Catholic. They represent a pulling back to the dark ages of fear where control is more important than movement.

Our society is in a great change. People are connected through the Internet and other social media around the world. Where looking out the window is as easy as looking at the other side of the world. We will go through our bumps and bruises. Some will sacrifice themselves for the dying ways based on fear and some will continue in the belief that if they close their eyes hard enough and long enough the changes will stop. However, a majority of the world's people long to be safe, happy, and to have a better life for themselves and their families.

The old guard is based on fear. The new generation is based on hope and vision. Blood will occasionally be shed, but ultimately the dinosaurs will die off. So the real question is, what vision do we have for the world and ourselves? What do we want the century to look like at the end? No matter how hard some people try, change will continue and we as Americans have the opportunity to provide the vision of the world. Our country’s greatest strength is vision and hope. What we must do is honor other peoples visions and choices. We can no longer force our vision on other people, but what we can do is lead the world's people to common vision based on hope, compassion, kindness, and love.