I Don't Want to Say 'Good Riddance' But...

...it is really what I want to say...what I want to yell out, but I'd rather not.

Let me start by saying this, I am actually against abortion, save for those isolated cases where the raped individual got pregnant due to the atrocious act- making me pro-life. HOWEVER, I am for the death penalty, whether it is by the chair, lethal injection, HANGING, firing squad or by stoning...all of them boil down to the same thing. Most particularly if the offender has committed the most horrendous of sins against mankind and society, which this (former) head of state did. Fact is, if he were a cat, it would only be just and proper to execute all his nine lives. (I don't mean to sound cruel, but it is an honest opinion. This stand on capital punishments (in turn) makes me, well...anti-life. (That is why one friend remarked: "You must be schizophrenic, you are made up of 2 personas"...he said that half in jest though).

Talking of Saddam Hussein, I am on the camp of the multitudes who rejoiced with the verdict of hanging. No, let me be more specific, I really did not rejoice...I was just glad that finally..FINALLY...the nightmares of the relatives/families of all the people who got killed would finally abate. The execution of Hussein would not bring these murdered persons back to this plane of existence, but it is a major balm to the emotional wounds being carried by the said relatives/families.

Out of the ten commandments, what is the most well-known? I think it is: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Technically, Hussein might not have killed a single person with his own hands. However, common intelligence would lead us to conclude that ordering one's henchmen to do the act for him is basically the same thing. (If God could talk to us right now, I am sure He will say the same thing). HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED- RATHER GOT MURDERED - DURING HIS VERY LONG REIGN? I will not put a number here, not even an estimate...it would seem pointless...suffice it to say...they went by the multitudes.

With all due respect to his countrymen who idolized him...this guy is the Hitler of this generation...of my generation. That being said, let us still offer a prayer (whether a tiny prayer or a novena) for his soul. That the Lord in his infinite Mercy could still allow Saddam's soul to be accommodated in blissful state. Fellow human beings have judged him...that's why the last thing on earth that Saddam saw was a rope. But that was mortal judgment. Divine judgment is for God and God alone. You may be saying "good riddance"...but let us still be pitying enough to offer a prayer for this individual. Whether you would consider praying for his soul as equivalent to forgiveness (on crimes against humanity) or not...I think is moot. He is dead after all...he did not die a natural death...he already paid his crimes with his life. (Although I will refuse to say that one life could offset the hundreds and hundreds of lives...all of which were taken against their will.)

Saddam is gone...we could now close this chapter. It does not mean that in the closing of the chapter, we will bury the book. It behooves all of us to make sure that this execution will never be forgotten by our children and our children's children and our children's children's children. Only then will we be able to imbibe in them the fact that at this day and age...we still have justice running in this world.
Mr. Hussein...I am glad that you are gone...but I'll offer some prayers for you still. The final say rests with our Creator...and ULTIMATELY...you would have to answer him when he asks: "What can you show me that embodies your love for humankind?"