Different from the vast majority's celebration and chanting for America either online or on the streets, Slate Podcast took a deeper view into whether or not it's appropriate for us to celebrate the death of the nation's enemy.
When I saw the breaking news alert on my cell phone from CNN, my first thought was that he finally had what he deserved today. It's been almost 10 years. When a lot of people were distracted by other things happening in the world, the death of Osama Bin Laden suddenly took everyone's attention back to the attack and reminded people of that moment when they found out about the attack. After so long, many people may say the justice finally served.
While Americans celebrating at home or out in the public, some people, including those from the Slate Podcast, started questioning wether or not the celebration was appropriate. Yes, he did do horrible things to the nation, and yes, he's the nation's biggest enemy ever since September 11. But the image of Americans celebrating his death might, according to this Slate podcast, bring out a different image of the U.S. in other people's eyes.
They also talked about how people might feel differently if this happened when George W. Bush was the president. It was quite obvious of their political views in this podcast because of the way they talked about it. (If you're interested in that, feel free to go check out the podcast from the hyperlink above.)
In addition to the death of Osama Bin Laden, there's another thing that interested me very much in the podcast: the royal wedding.
One of the most interesting things they talked about was why Americans are so enthusiastic about monarchy and the wedding. Americans believe in the personal effort, not the social status that comes with blood. So why did Americans love the royal stories?
Growing up in a democratic country, I sort of understand what those Americans who follow the royal wedding are thinking about. There's no kings and queens in America, neither does Taiwan. We elect our own presidents and many government officials. But, deep in people's minds, we still want to know about the royal wedding because sometimes people just need something to make them believe fairy tales do exist. The curiosity and interest of monarchy doesn't show up in Prince William's wedding just now. Americans showed great passion in Prince Charles and Lady Diana's wedding in 1981, and according to the Slate Podcast, such enthusiasm showed in hollywood movies as well.
Because I'm personally following the royal wedding myself, I read a lot of articles and photo galleries about the wedding. Many people criticized that the royal family was wasting tax payers' money to promote their image. I'm not a U.K. citizen and I pay no tax to their government, so I won't say they're wrong in criticizing the wedding and the spending. However, even if I did pay the tax and contribute a little to the royal wedding, I wouldn't mind. Why? I'd rather take an easy view on this issue and just see it as paying a little money to remind myself that fairy tales exist. It's like watching Roman Holiday, so why make it a fuss?
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