there is a denial in how cruel we are.

r y an {sleep-walking} says:
[what are we to say] against the man who raped and pillaged their people and land for so long?
r y an {sleep-walking} says:
What are we to say to them? and, how are we to justify his well-being (incarcerated well-being, that is) to those who lost families and loved ones because of his actions?
yesterday came suddenly says:
is it our position to judge?
r y an {sleep-walking} says:
then whose?
yesterday came suddenly says:
nature.
r y an {sleep-walking} says:
but nature presumes death for those who cannot survive? could Saddam's loss of power and eventual capture be analogous to the impala who is captured by the claws of a lion on the Serengeti's?


Let's accept it: even though we are human, our own behavior is beyond our comprehension. The 20th century was host to history's most horrible tragedies. I need not remind anyone of the these.

One of the current events that has deeply disturbed me has been the execution of former dictator Saddam Hussein. The act of capital punishment is in itself a ethical dilemma. It isn't in the fact of the death penalty itself that is the real issue, it has been established time and again that human beings are savage creatures that have occasional epiphanies and pangs of love and compassion.

The real issue is that the human race as a collective is inhumane enough to carry out such acts, yet at this point in history denies the collective or the masses the actual reality of an event. None of the north american news media would show the actual death process of the hanging. The media thrives off of doubt and insecurity while skepticism perpetuates these two things. It is your own responsibility to be informed, no one else can do this for you. Sometimes it hurts to be informed of the truth.


If we are going to hand out capital punishments, then we very damn well do it full-ass rather than half-ass. It is a very cruel act, so let it be known..don't bring passive-aggressiveness into the collective. If it is going to be part of reality, let people see it for what it is. That's how people find compassion -- through the eyes of despair. The media doesn't give people this chance. Newscasts are just laden with fear producing images.

I watched the hanging myself, and i'm still pretty disturbed. No matter what Saddam was guilty of, it still troubles me and hurts me to see this act carried out. He didn't even have to answer to all of his crimes before he was executed! The ultimate question that hovers above all of this is who is responsible for judging people who commit crimes in the face of humanity? Naturally, it does make sense that other humans that have organized a society be responsible for this (their own well being as a group.)

But something still doesn't seem right. Reality is stark, but I am personally learning that if we are faced with it and don't deny what is really there, we can find gems such as compassion, empathy, and a different kind of love. The process of getting there can be garnished with a lot of pain and suffering, but the fruits of carrying out your acts and accepting your decisions and choices without hiding the real fact inside of you - that's the direction that humanity should head in. We are afraid to see who we really are -- and if we refuse to walks towards this, then this will prevent a new enlightenment from occurring.

Is it in our nature?