Simple.

In The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, His Holiness talks about Saddam Hussein directly. Allow me to paraphrase because the book is not with me at the moment. He says that it is not fair to blame an entire country's woes on one person. Saddam may be the leader, but a leader takes followers, a commander takes an army. And so that empty, creepy feeling is the knowledge that his death will not bring an end to violence in Iraq or improve the world opinion of the United States. In the Mercury News, Mohammed Latif, a 35-year-old from Baghdad is quoted as saying, "Executing Saddam will not change anything because we have many Saddam still."

And the execution of Saddam certainly didn't seem to change Saddam himself. From The New York Times:

The national security adviser in Iraq, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, asked him if he had any remorse or fear.

"No," he said bluntly. "I am a militant and I have no fear for myself. I have spent my life in jihad and fighting aggression. Anyone who takes this route should not be afraid."

Mr. Rubaie, who was standing shoulder to shoulder with Mr. Hussein, asked him about the murder of the elder Mr. Sadr.

They were standing so close to each other that others could not hear the exchange.

One of the guards, though, became angry. "You have destroyed us," the masked man yelled. "You have killed us. You have made us live in destitution."

Mr. Hussein was scornful. "I have saved you from destitution and misery and destroyed your enemies, the Persian and Americans."

The guard cursed him. "God damn you."

Mr. Hussein replied, "God damn you."

And his last words: "Down with the traitors, the Americans, the spies and the Persians."

A spokesman for Hamas, Fawzi Barhum, seems to agree.

"Saddam Hussein was a prisoner of war," Mr. Barhum said, calling his execution "a political assassination that violates all international laws that are supposed to protect prisoners of war." He called the trial "unjust" and said the timing of the execution, a half-day before the start of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha, was insulting. "The hanging took place on the day of the Eid and this is a message to the Arab street. The Americans have launched threats to all the Arabs," he said.

I am not a terrorist and i don't condone violence. I'm pretty much a pacifist. But the attempts the the United States have made to bring peace to the Middle East have failed terribly. If peace is ever to be a viable option on this lovely little planet of ours, the United States is going to have to accept that there are ways of thinking that seem absurd to us. Upon acceptance of that fact, we will understand that our ways of thinking seem absurd to others. With that understanding, perhaps we will realize that we don't have to bomb yet another country into agreement.

As Dr. King said, "Only love can conquer hate." We (sorry if "we" is unspecific) choose hate because it's usually the path of least resistance. Yeah, it takes us to some pretty shitty places and we end up not feeling so good about ourselves, but if we choose hate, we don't really have to work that hard. It's not difficult to feel hatred for a dictator like Hussein. Is it possible to feel love for him? And i'm not talking about that hippy-drippy-ultra-granola-i-love-everybody kind of love. I'm talking about towing the hard line. In order to find love for someone we perceive as being so different from us, we have to look deeply both at the other and at ourselves to find a common denominator.

If that seems impossible, maybe start just by being kinder to the people who aren't so different from you. Like your neighbor you've never talked to in the three years you've lived in that 6-unit apartment. Or the deli guy that knows your coffee order so you don't have to say anything at 8am when you're only capable of grunting anyway. I truly think this is the way to peace. Not through a centralized government that is paralyzingly difficult to communicate with, but through the infinite number of connections you make each day. Perhaps this seems simple, but don't mistake simplicity for worthlessness. For a month, just try being the person who says hello first, who smiles first. I don't think you'll need a whole month to begin to see that the barriers you feel between you and the rest of the world are an illusion. As i cultivate this practice, more and more i'm convinced that we're all just the same person.

Don't know if i'll be posting tomorrow or not, so Happy New Year. Love to all.

SG

p.s. happy birthday, mom!