Friday, July 25, 2003
Friday, July 25, 2003 |
| Death
of evil men no reason to strike up the band
By DAVID EPPS Hollywood is a powerful teacher of theology. In fact, studies indicate that the theology of most people is influenced more by movies and television than by church, which, of course is a sad and dangerous thing. So, I suppose that I should not be surprised that I learned, at a very young age, that it is a good thing for evil people to die. The movie was "The Wizard of Oz," and the evil person who died was The Wicked Witch of the West. She melted, you will recall, screaming, "I'm melting!" as she assumed room temperature and became a wet spot on the ground. In fact, a celebratory song was sung to commemorate her death. "Ding dong, the witch is dead!" proclaimed the elated citizens of Oz. So, having learned our theology well, many of my generation rejoiced when wicked people, whether fictional or factual, perished. I learned in history class that Adolf Hitler was an exceedingly diabolical maniac who died and brought the war in Europe to an end. Ding dong! I learned in elementary school one sad day in November about the assassination of John Kennedy. And then his alleged killer, Lee Harvey Oswald was murdered before he came to trial. I even saw the tape of his killing on black and white television. Ding dong! And so it went for much of my life. The world is full of evil, wicked people and, sooner or later, most of them seem to die or get killed so there is always someone to "ding, dong" about. Later, as I grew older, I discovered that the death of anyone, even wicked people, leaves behind grieving spouses, children, parents, and friends. It's not just the families of the "good people" who grieve. Death is rarely civil, is frequently brutal, is seldom beautiful, and is often terribly ugly. I stopped rejoicing and "ding-donging" at the death of others, even the evil people, some time ago. I understand that it is often necessary and when Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was executed, I shed no tears. I didn't sing either, however. So, when the news came this week of the death of the Hussein brothers in Northern Iraq, I took the news in stride. These were not good people, you understand. If anybody fits the definition of "evil," it's Saddam's boys. Oday Hussein, at 39 and the eldest, oversaw the torture of Iraqi athletes who failed to perform. He was a torture specialist and a murderer who did his job with zeal and took delight in his work. He routinely employed Iraqi guards to abduct young girls off the street so he could rape them and he had a propensity to drop people he didn't like into vats of acid. Qusay Hussein, 37, was known to use mass executions and torture, and is believed to have solved the problem of overcrowded prisons by arbitrarily killing prisoners to make room for more. And, of course, the killing of U.S. soldiers, nearly one a day for the last several weeks, was carried out by Hussein loyalists. I shed no tears over their untimely demise at the hands of the 101st Airborne. I hope their absence from the planet hastens the arrival of peace in that beleaguered nation and brings our men and women home. Our soldiers in Iraq rejoiced this week and I do not fault them for that. They have seen their share of death and want to come home. Maybe they have earned the right to "ding-dong." So be it. The witch is dead and I am not sad. But I don't feel like singing either. Evil people serve as a reminder that there really is evil in the world and that "evil" and "wickedness" are real, not just "alternate views of reality." While people like the Hussein's cause us to recoil in disgust and horror, they also remind us that deep inside every person is a dark side. All of us have a propensity toward evil. Even small children, selfish at their very core, have to be taught to share, to be civil, to "play nice with others." Jesus spoke of the hearts that thought about murder and the minds that were fertile soil for lust and hatred. The Apostle Paul knew of his own baser desires and considered himself to be the "chief of all sinners." No, Oday and Qusay are not as unlike us as we would like to imagine. If we were given absolute power, unlimited wealth, and the means to force people to do our bidding and the ability to satiate our every desire-if we were above the law and had no fear of retributionwho can say that we wouldn't consider getting rid of our enemies or wouldn't think about having any woman we desired? Even King David gave in to those two inclinations. For most of us, the fear of jail or of hell keeps us on a, more or less, law-abiding path. The removal of Saddam's sons was inevitable and good will come from it. But I'd just as soon the band didn't play today. [David Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church, which meets at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sundays on Ga. Highway 34 between Peachtree City and Newnan. He may be contacted at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com or at www.CTKCEC.org.]
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