Is it OK to celebrate Osama bin Laden's death?

With impeccable timing, my daughter and her husband found themselves on a pleasure-trip in the Washington, D.C. area last week when news leaked that U.S. forces had killed Osama bin Laden.

Demonstrating that she inherited more than just good looks from her father, my daughter's news instincts kicked in, and she soon grabbed her camera and headed for the White House to witness the gathering crowd of spontaneous celebrants.

Within seconds of arriving, she came face-to-face with the question many Americans have been asking themselves ever since. Is it proper to cheer and celebrate the death of another human being, even if that person was as evil as Osama bin Laden?

What she saw ranged from people draped in the flag, hanging from tree limbs in Lafayette Park and cheering, to a young woman silently holding a hastily made sign on poster board reading, "Never forget." She photographed everything from a dog draped in the Stars and Stripes to a young father with a child on his shoulders.

Similar celebrations broke out in New York City and elsewhere, including, no doubt, in many private living rooms. In many hearts, a sudden surge of joy fought against instincts that urged dignity, led by President Barack Obama's own solemn announcement of the news.

This was, after all, not the end of the war, but the death of its instigator.

The debate itself says a lot about who we are. A society devoid of conscience wouldn't raise the question in the first place. Vengeance would be its own reward.

But this is a nation founded on principles rooted in religion, caught in a daily cultural tug-of-war that pits the spiritual against the secular. Just about every national, communal event gets viewed against that backdrop.

A nation that revels in free expression, in an age where anonymity has begun to divorce expression from accountability, even found a way to seek wisdom in a piece of fabricated sage advice.

Not long after Sunday's announcement, the following saying began circulating the Internet, attributed to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy."