Saddam is history, and what a mistake

Well, He’s gone.

I told my wife tonight that I thought executing him was a mistake.

Sure, I have no doubts that the man killed many people. I have no doubt that his regime would have killed anyone that stood against them, if they were able.

I still don’t think sending him to the gallows was the right thing to do. What kind of signal was just sent? Justice? I don’t think so.

It reeks of revenge more than anything to me.

I think the U.S. and Iraqi people are going to rue the day this man swung. For better or for worse, the die has been cast.

Your thoughts?

Re: Saddam is history, and what a mistake

I just heard about an hour ago.
Made me sad, I don't think anything is acheived by the taking of his life, I don't think it will help US relations with the muslim world and ultimately it will turn out to be a big mistake.

But the whole thing is such a gigantic cock up already and kids my son's age are dying out there because of it. Thousands of Iraqis have been killed, and our governments are doing it in our name and we are all collectively allowing it to happen.

I don't know how we stop it, I don't know how we ever start to repair the situation. 

Democracy-it would be funny if it wasn't so awful

Liz 

Re: Saddam is history, and what a mistake

My own soul-mate violently disagrees & feels that he - as all who transgress - should be punished for not following the rules - whose rules & what scale of punishment is obviously open to question and further debate -

but my own feelings - in the context of the big scheme of things - namely ALL 6 billion of us on earth today - first and foremost have a responsibility towards the whole - & if any democratic solution is to be considered to return rights to the people - it must be driven directly by the 6 billion rather than representatively by a subset of the whole.

We have had three chances thus far in history - to achieve this state of affairs

1, Pericles & Athens for 30 years - direct democracy of the people - which established the concept of democracy which all western democracies are now based on.

2. The last 30 years of the 1600’s in the Netherlands - during the time of Spinoza & Liebnitz - when protestantism FIRST began to stand up against the politics & corruption of the Papacy.

3. The democracy of the United States - based on the WRITTEN & legally binding constitution & its ammendments PLUS the UNWRITTEN spiritually & morally based godliness of “ALL the President’s Men” - which promised so much for the potential of global society - but which has itself become almost totally political in consort with the potential greed & corruption of big business - which in itself has brought capitalism into such disrepute - in the minds of ALL ‘nations’ on earth.

In the context of the 2030 Spike - should we not also be considering the first 30 years of the 21st century as a very important window of opportunity - for each and every ONE of us to assume the personal reponsibility of influencing the establishment of a NEW ORDER direct democracy appropriate to the requirements of ALL people on earth ?

Re: Saddam is history, and what a mistake

I dreamed of forgiveness and the casting of stones.
Were I unfortunate enough to be the one who made a judgement of Saddam, I would have loved to invite him to spend time in silence with Nuns, in some remote mountain top monastery (free to leave of course should the pain of silence be too great) and in that environment, surrounded by unconditional love I wonder would the child emerge as a man?

I was fortunate to meet a young lady, perhaps she was an Angel, she showed me forgiveness, or rather what true unconditional forgiveness looks like when embodied within a victim of mans inhumanity to man.
I recall walking into her room and bursting into tears, I was floored by reality, this is what war does, this is what forgiveness looks like and this is everything you seek to be as a man embodied in a young woman of my age, who at the age of 10 lost her family and her limbs.

Saddam was one of us, our brother, like him or not, he represented perhaps what we may not like about ourselves, but can you imagine if each time we looked in the mirror we smashed the mirror for its reflection offended us?

Imagine there being no courts for there were no one pure enough of thought or deed to sit at their benches? Imagine if the leadership of local governments were shared equaly between men and women? Imagine if consciousness was a part of mainstream education!

And … all we have is today, to be the change we wish to see.

With love

Martin

PS Thanks Michael for guiding me here.