Endings and New Beginnings

 I'm feeling a tad philosophical tonight as I sit here at my computer reading the news about Saddam Hussein. Yes, he's been executed and hundreds, perhaps thousands of Iraqis both in Bagdad and even the U.S. are dancing in the streets. It is truly the end of a horrible dictator and my hope is that this execution will not result in more unrest in Iraq and/or throughout the world. I hope this will be seen as a prime example of what can result when someone blatantly kills. (Bin Laden should be heading for the hills, if he knows what's good for him. Maybe one day, he'll be found in a hole too.)

Anyway, I digress. I have never been a proponent of the death penalty. However, in this case I am quite at ease with it. I also know that while the execution took the last breath out of this man's body, his soul will continue to survive. The truly sad part of it all is that Saddam himself does not believe he's done anything wrong. He is also very angry that he was called to account for his actions. That said, I believe his soul may not cross over. He may wish to stay in Bagdad, which was the capitol of his kingdom on earth. His soul may be lost and doomed to roam for eons in this way.

If he does cross over, he will be quite surprised by what he encounters. While no one, not even our Lord will condemn him for the things he has done, he will be forced to watch his life pass before him during a life review, which is like watching a giant, 3-D movie screen. He will see everything he has done to hurt, injure or kill and he will also see exactly how his actions affected not only those people, but also their families, loved ones and friends. If that doesn't bring some reality to his twisted sense of right and wrong, nothing will.

Another aspect of this situation is that if he does cross over, his soul will be back. He/she will reincarnate, because he learned little, if anything last time around. Therefore, he will have to take this "bad camping trip" called life on earth again. (Who knows how many times he/she's had to do this already.) Just when that might be, only God knows for sure. Let's just hope he learns at least a few valuable lessons and doesn't try to bring death and destruction to this earth again some day in the future.

(I realize that my views on life, death and everything in between are rather different than many of you. However, this is what I believe may be in store for this soul. Either way, I do not envy him.)