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LIFE MATTERS: Evil Does Not Pay

By Dr. Dencio S. Acop

“The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end, Highness”. These were the words of the betrayed general turned slave-gladiator Maximus to the undeserving Roman Emperor Commodus in the movie Gladiator. The latter is the son and murderer of the true Emperor Marcus Aurelius. But the words are also those that can be said to every tyrannical leader in this world. There are many places in the world where the people feel hopeless about their political leaders who are just as evil as Commodus. We know how the movie ends. No matter how Commodus stacked all odds in his favor, he still ended up being defeated and eventually killed by the more vastly skilled and battle-tested warrior. In the end, the ambitious emperor lay dead on the arena floor un-minded by anyone while Maximus was honored and carried away by the people. Before their duel, Maximus was forced to reveal himself before the insistent Commodus, saying: “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the armies of the North. General of the Felix Legions. Loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next”. Again, these words (especially the latter part) could have been said by any human being victimized by tyrants. And they are also words of premonition to what lies in store for all humans who prey on other humans without just cause. The Roman state was still polytheistic at the time, but Romans already believed that justice would be had even in the afterlife. The empire converted to Christianity in 380 AD. In short, evil does not pay in the end. Evildoers gamble with the brief time they enjoy doing evil on earth against the eternity in hell that awaits them when they die. “What we do in life echoes in eternity”, the general reminded his troops before the battle! Life on earth is short compared to eternity in Hades. Even the longest earthly life is merely a drop in the ocean of the afterlife by metaphorical comparison.      

No matter how tyrannical leaders try to prolong their reign, the time for honoring themselves cannot but come to an end at some point simply because they are merely human. And no matter how much we try to make sense of the logic of the world towards edifying even evil leaders, it is also illogical to be dismissive of humans who reject evil preferring victimization and even death. The choice between good and evil is an ongoing debate and battle among humans. While the former believes that victory is won by winning the immortal soul, the latter puts more premium on winning the world even at the risk of losing the soul. Rather than arguing the lengthy merits and demerits of tyrants through history, I think that merely identifying some of them already drives home my point. Evil men and women are evil not because of failed intentions or false narratives but because of the untold pains and sufferings they’ve inflicted on humanity by their willful decisions and actions. It is the innocent victims who are calling out for justice from the grave whenever we identify the names of tyrants who put them there without just cause: Vladimir Putin (Russia), Bashar al-Assad (Syria), Pierre Nkurunziza (Burundi), Isaias Afewerki (Eritrea); Rodrigo Duterte (Philippines), Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, and Miguel Diaz (Cuba); Adolf Hitler (Nazi Germany), Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union), Mao Zedong (Communist China), Idi Amin (Uganda), Benito Mussolini (Italy), Pol Pot (Cambodia), Saddam Hussein (Iraq); Slobodan Milosevic (Yugoslavia), Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un (North Korea); Mengistu Haile Mariam (Ethiopia), Francisco Franco (Spain), Augusto Pinochet (Chile), Muammar Gaddafi (Libya), Jean-Bedel Bokassa (Central African Republic), Francois Duvalier (Haiti), Khorloogiin Choibalsan (Mongolia), Mehmet Talaat Pasha (Ottoman Empire), John I (England), Ranavalona I (Madagascar), Leopold II (Belgium), Genghis Khan (Mongol Empire), Timur (Timurid Empire), Vlad Tepes (Wallachia-Romania), Henry VIII (England), Ivan the Terrible (Russia), Mary I (England and Ireland), Ibrahim I (Ottoman Empire), Periander (Corinth), Phalaris (Agrigento-Sicily), Qin Shi Huang (Qin dynasty-China), Herod the Great (Judea), Caligula (Ancient Rome), Nero (Ancient Rome), Attila the Hun (Hunnic Empire), Wu Zetian (Tang dynasty-China), etc.  

It is such a paradox that, while worldly leaders indeed reach the pinnacle of their ambitions, their time for honoring themselves always comes to an end sooner or later. These are leaders who built monuments to immortalize themselves. How did some of them end? I don’t have the space to write them all down, so I am merely citing a few here. Hitler shot himself in the head after Nazi Germany fell. Stalin died of a massive stroke. Mussolini was executed by Italian partisans who captured him while he was attempting to flee to Switzerland following his downfall. Duterte is undergoing trial by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Mao died of a heart attack following years of poor health. Pol Pot overdosed himself to death than face trial in the United States. Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging by the Iraqi government. Milosevic died of a heart attack in his prison cell at The Hague. Gaddafi was captured and killed by the Misrata militia while attempting to flee. Mehmet Pasha was assassinated while on exile in Berlin. King John I died of dysentery during a thunderstorm. The people at Newark Castle then thought the storm was the sound of the gates of hell welcoming the wicked king. Vlad Tepes was killed and beheaded by the Ottomans. Like the heads he impaled, Vlad’s severed head was also displayed as a trophy above the city gates of Constantinople by Mehmet II. Henry VIII died of health complications from a host of ailments. Ivan the Terrible died of a stroke. Mary I died of cancer. Ibrahim I was strangled to death on orders of his own mother Kosem. Periander was himself killed by one of the assassins he sent to kill others. Phalaris was overthrown by Telemachus and burned to death in his own bronze bull, as was his practice. Qin died from chemicals he ingested for immortality. Attila is believed to have died from overdrinking. Herod the Great died from a combination of chronic kidney disease and gangrene infection of the genitals. Emperor Nero killed himself before he was arrested. Emperor Caligula was murdered by his closest advisors. 

Unlike their earlier predecessors who perished more violently, modern-day tyrants often died of natural causes while undergoing drawn-out trials. Either way, the lives and deaths of leader-tyrants can be described as a living hell. While the material gains of evil leaders can reach the pinnacle of worldliness, the intangible losses from those gains are not outweighed if the current verdicts of history are to be the judges. In this sense, the lot and choice of those who rejected evil preferring victimization or even death cannot be dismissed. For indeed, the tyrants’ time for honoring themselves will always have ended. But that of the holy innocents has just begun. Now, tell me. Does siding with evil leaders pay?     


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