“Long live the people and death to their enemies. Long live the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!”
These words were some of the first sounds to follow the sentencing of Saddam Hussein only days ago on Nov. 5. Saddam repeated these words, varying slightly, as the judge raised his voice to finish the sentencing. It seems that Saddam’s crimes against humanity have finally caught up with him – with a one-way ticket to the gallows.
It is the 1982 killings of 148 people in a Shiite town of Iraq that will cost him and six subordinates their lives. This, of course, does not include the tens of thousands who are reported to have died under Saddam’s rule during the fatal suppression of the Iraqi people.
As the sentence was read, I watched as Saddam, a man who seems so disconnected from the world through his quest for power, displayed the first bit of real emotion I’d witnessed to date.
Until then I had only watched as Saddam angrily defended himself on the witness stand, or sat and watched the trial from his seat in the courtroom. This time his feelings were evident – he was visibly shaken, trembled at the news and shouted, “God is great!” Perhaps his creation is not.
It was two days after seeing this news, while walking back from class, that I noticed a bumper sticker on the back of a vehicle. It read: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” I wasn’t surprised to see that Mahatma Gandhi was responsible for this quote – judging by his life and the ideas he expressed.
I was happy to see that someone shared the same thoughts and appreciation for such views as I do. I can’t be quite sure what specific reason that person may have had for using the sticker but it inspired me, nonetheless.
An ‘eye for an eye’ is in no way a contemporary concept. Instead, it dates far back into history to a time which most of us believe to have been captured in the Bible. The verses pertaining to this principle are written, and often quoted from, Exodus 21: 23-27. This follows the same pattern which only the most basic thinking can give us: let the punishment fit the crime. Although this, along with many beliefs from the Old Testament, is considered to be canceled out by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ – our own punishment seems to fit the bill better than eternal salvation.
I suppose you could say that we, Americans, are in no way responsible for the decision to hang Saddam. Then again, that would be quite the tale considering our decision to let the Iraqi people judge Saddam themselves. It is incredibly convenient for the United States and not so convenient for Saddam. It’s clear that America’s punishment would have been similar – why take the blame when someone else is more than willing? It was done so that the people of Iraq could have one final say, with the U.S.’s blessing on the matter. At least that’s what we are supposed to believe.
Yet let’s not forget that our lack of hesitation to judge and execute in the past, along with our president’s desire to watch other dictators, excluding himself, fall from power, says otherwise.
Our decision to gladly hand Saddam over to Iraq, with the obvious knowledge of his future punishment, does not show justice but instead the remnants of a well thought-out plan for execution, one that frees the U.S. of blame. Why settle for less if we can have the cake and eat it too?
So, it seems that we’ve managed to work our magic this time. We brought down a dictator, whom I agree should not have been in power, with reasoning so inaccurate that we became the ass of every joke from here to Timbuktu. Our president flew under the radar and did his job in a way that any politician is expected: through half-truths and by ending his speech, no matter how packed full of lies it might have been, with “God bless America.” Good job, Bush!
None of this answers the question of why we have capital punishment, because there is no answer. I can rant, speculate and shake my head in shame but it will make no difference. If we attempt to free the world of these people, the ones who seem worthy of the death penalty, then we can continue to believe that there is an ultimate sense of accomplishment awaiting us.
Murder is murder, whether through guilt or not. To my knowledge we are all guilty of something, so who’s to decide what constitutes death? You? Me? The government? Oh, who really gives a shit – that seems to be our reaction to everything these days.
It was America who brought Saddam to ‘justice’ and perhaps not completely in vain. Still, with the government’s grip always tightening, I am left to wonder how long it will be before our passiveness will allow the capital punishment, the abolishment of our rights and sweet talking of our commander to destroy us.
Saddam is only one of the many examples of our deceit and well-hidden carelessness. I agree with anyone who believes that we have succeeded in our mission. We were successful in taking the eyes off of Bush, remembering just how ‘lucky’ we are and how thankful we should be in contrast to others.
So the American bubble grows thicker and all is well in the Land of Make Believe. Yet, if a day when we fully mirror the ways of Iraq arrives, will we finally be able to see or like blood-sucking vampires of myth, will we still be blind to the reflection?
When the noose is tightened and the Iraqi people cheer be sure to hide your approval well, because we’ll be the ones washing our hands clean of the blood in a nearby stream, with only a hint of a smile to give us away.

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