Saddam, Kes and Redemptive violence

I went to the Sanctus1 film night last night where we watched Kes - the classic 1969 Ken Loach film. It struck me throughout that problems were often solved through violence, Billy was caned, given a cold-shower and hit by his brother all in an attempt to punish him and make him change his ways...I was then driving home and whilst listening to the radio heard that Saddam had been sentenced to death.

Commentators often claim that Saddam sought to rebuild Babylon and re-establish it as a great power in the world, and hence there is a tragic irony that 'redemptive violence' (the central myth of Babylonian religions according to Wink) will be his ultimate downfall. According to Wink, Babylonian religions taught that the way to deal with our enemies is by exterminating them. Violence was, for the religion of ancient Mesopotamia, the central dynamic of existence.

And now Iraq is a more violent place than it ever has been and Saddam is going to be hung. I can't help but think that this could be an opportunity to break the myth and move forward constructively.

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