New year, new hope

As we head back to Bloomington and begin a new semester, I cannot help but reflect on those we lost this holiday season. The passings of James Brown and former President Gerald Ford are a great loss to the world.\nThere is one whose passing, however, is not a great loss: Saddam Hussein's.\nThe butcher of Baghdad was executed Dec. 30. It is unfortunate that Saddam tortured and murdered his own people, but what is more unfortunate is the world's reaction to his execution.\nFor example, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said the taunting Saddam endured during his execution was "unacceptable" and that those involved should be punished.\nMr. Prescott, where was this outrage during the years he was in power?\nWhat is unacceptable is what Saddam Hussein did to his own people. Whether or not he was executed in a dignified manner is irrelevant. Perhaps this "outrage" should be turned towards ourselves for letting him stay in power for so long.\nAnother comes from radical-left academia.\nProfessor Richard Dawkins said on the Huffington Post that putting Saddam to death was an "act of vandalism." \nExcuse me?\nSaddam gases, tortures, plunders and oppresses his own people for more than 20 years, and when he is finally brought to justice, it is considered an act of vandalism? That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.\nSpeaking of the ridiculous, there is one more living dictator who deserves to be executed in the same manner as Saddam. That dictator is Fidel Castro.\nThis new year marks the 48th anniversary of Castro's coup. In their first three years in power, it is estimated that Castro and his cohorts slaughtered 3,200 people. This is to say nothing of all the political prisoners taken by his "revolution."\nWhat is most disheartening about this situation is that the Cuban people will likely never get the justice they deserve. Although reports on when the butcher of Havana is likely to die are varied, one thing seems certain: Castro will never be put on trial for his crimes. He will likely die peacefully in his bed without ever having to answer for his actions.\nEach new year brings new hope. The execution of Saddam Hussein will bring opportunities for hope to the people of Iraq. They no longer have to fear this monster and can go about the business of governing their country.\nThe new year did not bring those same hopes to the Cuban people, but their time will come. Soon they will be able to participate in the governing of their country and the world economy, actions they have been denied for nearly half a century.\nThe overall hope this new year brings is that one by one, the dictators of the world will fall. Hopefully by this time next year, they will all be gone, and the freedom-loving people of the world can finally live in peace.