Ignorance is bliss?

For the past two weeks I have found myself reviewing and repeating something that was asked to me. This question that has been floating around in my head, and has itself led to other questions like an unwanted spawn of offspring. That question: "Is Osama Bin Laden still alive?..."

This was neither supposed to be comical, nor was it a joke.

Did the question come from a young child who is still learning to tie shoe laces? Did it come from a person with Parkinsons Disease who can't even remember their own name? Did it come from a lonely tribe member in a secluded part of the world where communication dare not reach? No. It actually came from an American.

I found myself at the time dumbfounded and somewhat shocked it was even asked of me. But then after time, I felt quite saddened about it.

Since the events of 9/11 and the campaign to overthrow the Al-Qaeda harboring Taliban government of Afghanistan less than a month later, the search for public enemy number one Osama Bin Laden still continues almost 8 years later. This has also led to 940 deaths of American troops alone in Afghan territory, not to mention the 4000+ in the War on Terror's progeny "War on Iraq: The Second", but that's a conversation for another day.

Now if I was someone who's country had been rattled to the point of breaking by bombarding planes into the World Trade Center (9/11), had his country's troops travel to war (Afghanistan), had his troops die in war (the 940 in Afghanistan), and have the knowledge that the war was set to carry on for a number of years...I would want to know if the person who caused all that death and misery was merely alive or dead.

On a slightly different note, since my arrival in the US back in June I have also been asked by a number of people if I am from;
- Australia
- Sweden
- Ireland
- Germany
- Canada
- probably some others that I tried to erase from my memory out of pure embarrassment for that person.

After being in this situation several times, it somehow doesn't seem so bad. But it's something I'm begrudgingly going to have to live with.

I also got into a conversation with some guy last month, when he asked me where I was from. I replied, "the UK". His reply was, "UK...where's that? Somewhere near Russia?..."

I leave your thoughts about this to accumulate...