I was having dinner the other night with friends and the conversation turned to the current events surrounding Saddam Hussein. Many people at the table were excited that he was being put to death. So I posed the question, “Is it necessary to be happy about that choice?” The answer for many was that he deserved to die since he murdered thousands.
I certainly cannot say if he deserves to die – truly, can anyone say that with certainty? When do we cross the line from becoming an executioner in the name of “justice,” to becoming a murderer? If we put him to death, is that not revenge? And if we are acting from a place of revenge, where is our forgiveness?
Again, I am not saying he shouldn’t be responsible for his actions; of course we all must take responsibility for our actions. But I understand he felt justified according to his belief system, and as a spiritual person know that his actions were taken in ignorance of the divinity of all life. However, if I do not forgive him and put him to death, I too am acting in ignorance of the divinity of life and I am no better than him.
I’ve observed that everyone takes actions that can judged to be “bad.” Of course many of these actions could be considered minor compared to Saddam’s, like not picking up the milk at the store when you promised, or taking an action at work that your boss becomes angry at. Still, you are being judged and you have failed according to another’s point of view. When we become angry at others because they have not behaved as we want them to behave, we become angry and project that anger on others. It compels us to “kill” that person with our anger.
In the end we must decide how we want to function in this world. Either we embrace our divinity and behave with compassion, forgiveness and understanding or we respond with anger and rancor (this is independent of whether or not we agree with the other person’s actions). When we project our anger in this way, when we act from self-righteousness and the absolute certainty that our point of view and beliefs about what we are perceiving is 100% correct – we become extremists and murderers, even if we are only doing so with the weapons of anger and hatred.
The point is this – if people decide that he is not repentant of his actions and they choose to put him to death – at least we can morn that death rather than being happy. We are still ending a human life and if we indeed see ourselves as divine and that we are all one, then what is so wonderful about putting ourselves to death?
When we take the action to put someone to death as a last resort, with compassion rather than anger, at least we become one step closer to shifting the emotional quality of our planet and to embracing the divine attributes of compassion, forgiveness and unconditional love. I recognize that my words may be challenging to some – but my intent is to make you think and question your beliefs!
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Sheri Rosenthal DPM and Susyn Reeve M.Ed. are co-authors of WITH Forgiveness - Are You Ready? and co-creators of the WITH Forgiveness program at www.withforgivenessmovie.com. They both enjoy giving workshops, lectures and taking folks on spiritual journeys (you can see them at www.journeysofthespirit.com ), and being extremely happy! You can reach them at www.withforgiveness.com.
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