I came across a thought-provoking poem from the Shiny Headed Prophet today:

This is wrong.
Respect has gone.
He is no longer being thought of as a human being
an equal.
He is being thought of as an animal.
Treated as sub-human
But …
no matter what we think
no matter what evil he has performed
he is still a father
someone’s friend
a mothers son
God’s created
in His image

He’s thinking about Saddam Hussein and the way the press are reporting on his captivity. Does he deserve it because of the crimes he has committed? Or, along the lines Rob suggests, is it a dangerous path to casually overcome evil with evil?

I’m more inclined to the latter view. There’s every evidence that Saddam is a monster, having committed, encouraged and allowed all sorts of wicked things to go on. However, do we really want his example and influence to be what guides us? Will we feel the same way when it’s our turn in the box? After all, we in Western nations certainly allowed Saddam to carry on with his atrocities when he was on our payroll…