My World View
Matt Seinberg

There are things I don’t like to talk about; politics and finances are two. Today we’ll talk about those because of the events of this past week.

I was playing a game, of “Words with Friends,” on my iTouch when my friend Shara messaged me that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. Not quite a shock, but I was surprised and curious. Not sure if I believed it, I went to Yahoo and searched for the story. There it was, in living pixels, Bin Laden was dead.

I’d put this on the same level as people finding out, near the end of World War Two, that Hitler was dead. Both men were evil. Both deserved what they finally got, a short trip to a long reservation in hell, although Hitler did the task himself.

There are still people that The Holocaust didn’t happen. I’m sure there are some out there as well that deny that the events of September 11, 2001, as well. They probably think that it’s all done with special effects and that the World Trade Center is still standing, but is invisible.

I truly feel sorry for people that can’t admit when they are wrong or, worse, living in their own fantasy world. The Civil War, two World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam Wars all happened. Denialists must look through very dark glasses, with blinders on both sides so they can only see what’s directly in front of them, and only when it pleases their life view. That’s kind of a distorted view if you ask me.

There is still plenty of fallout from those events in 2001, most of them mental and physical. Almost 3000 people die that day. Many more died as the direct result of various illnesses caused by 9/11.How many more have been mentally effected because of the loved ones they lost that day? What about the ones that survived, and feels guilty because of it?

For any bleeding heart liberal that says Bin Laden should have been arrested and sent to the for  trial is spitting in the wind. Why waste taxpayer money and time to put someone in prison, or give the sentence to when some defense lawyer will put up a ridiculous fight for his legal innocence?

This man got what he deserved. It’s just a shame that he was killed quickly, not tortured as he did to so many people in the name of his jihad. A slow painful death would have been justified, but since we are a democratic and kind-hearted nation, the Navy Seals did their job and killed him on sight.

On Easter Sunday, as we were riding into Manhattan on the Long Island Railroad, a young Army soldier sat next to me. We got to talking. I quickly realized that, as much as he would like to express his opinion of our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, he could not. I can certainly read between the lines. Private Oats, not his true3 name, is 20 years old and was home for a week.

He had previously spent a year in Iraq and was now going to Afghanistan for another year. I asked him a pointed question. What would happen if the US left Iraq? His answer was simple, that the country would fall apart because there is no one person to lead the country. As we left the train, I shook his hand and thanked him for his service.

To any military service person, police officer or firefighter, thanks you as well for your service. Your job is to serve and protect, and you do it well. What’s a little inconvenience compared to being prepared for some kind of terrorist attack?

Although I respect the opinion of Private Oats, I believe we should leave Iraq. Let the country fend for itself. How much longer can we stay, trying to fix a country that doesn’t want us there? We have enough problems right here at home that need solving, among them high gasoline prices, the rising costs of food, home energy, and pretty much everything else we use in our daily lives.

So much of the money we are spending for this war in Iraq could help balance the federal and state budget and provide jobs for teachers, police and firefighters; how about this for an oxymoron? We have a choice to cut jobs in schools or raise taxes. More than 4000 teachers laid off, in New York City, alone, about to get unemployment insurance, which comes out of our taxes. Alternatively, school taxes go up and they get to keep their jobs, but only if they forgo pay raises stipulated in their contracts.

If I had two choices, one being to keep my job at the current, with slightly smaller salary, or being laid off and getting no salary, the choice is obvious. Keep your job; hope the economy gets better and your salary moves back up. Better to have a good, steady income than a paltry $425 check from the New York State Employment Department.

For those of you used to light hearted, funny column, I’m sorry to go in the other direction, but if I didn’t get this out of my head, the top of it would most likely explode at a very inopportune moment and make a mess.