The Utter Shock of Humanity in Human Beings

Front-page news a yesterday told of Saddam Hussein’s love for Doritos and Raisin Bran. Saddam also made small talk with guards about marriage, politics and religion. Why is this news? I happen to also like Doritos and Raisin Bran; you did see this on the front page of New York Times. Oh, it’s because I’m not a deposed dictator, isn’t it? Still, is it so much of a shock that Saddam still has taste buds and a personality? Do people honestly believe that gassing Kurds and invading Kuwait would really take that away from him?

It seems many public figures lose their image of being human. Is it simply because they are in the public eye? Is it possible for someone so much larger than life to participate in pedestrian activity? Apparently, it’s just too much to believe that the movers and shakers of the world have to do all the normal every day activities that we do. Is this why watching Ozzy and Jessica Simpson’s daily lives is entertainment? Jessica burps? Ozzy worries about his dogs peeing on the carpet? Impossible!

Dr. Frank of the Mr. T Experience wrote:

Even Hitler had a girlfriend, who he could always call,
Who'd always be there for him in spite of all his faults,
He was the worst guy ever reviled and despised,
Even Hitler had a girlfriend so why can't I?
Life is full of contradictions hard to understand,
And for every happy woman there's a lonely man,
Nixon had his puppy, Charles Manson had his clan,
But God forbid that I get a girlfriend,
Even Hitler had a girlfriend who he could call his own
To sweeten days of bitterness and feeling all alone.
I'm not as bad as Hitler but it doesn't mean a thing
Since they'd rather be with Hitler more than me.

What is funny is admitting that Hitler did have a human life. He played with his dog, he had his woman, he ate breakfast, he took craps, he liked to paint, and he went to bed. And I bet he loved his dog and his girlfriend and his breakfast and his craps and his painting and his sleeping. Yes, it is true; the man who tried to conquer Europe and killed millions in death camps shaved, popped zits and wiped his ass like the rest of us.

Somehow it seems wrong saying that. Somehow admitting that there is some humanity in someone implies that there is all humanity in someone. Hitler couldn’t possibly be normal, one might think. After all, we are normal and we are not capable of doing what he did, are we? As I said before, I like Doritos. Am I capable of gassing Kurds?

As I pass bookstores, I see they are filled with biographies. Jack Welsh and Donald Trump’s life stories promise to tell of the secret of success. The story of John Adams and Alexander Hamilton tell of the noble lives of “great men”. Somehow by reading about these “great” figures, people figure they can determine what makes a man great. People are drawn to these stories and figures. Perhaps it is so they can emulate them and their experiences or perhaps it is just to learn about the order of the world.

I pose a different idea. What if there are no great humans? What if we are all merely plain humans? What if luck is major driving force in determining who will lead a nation and who will die anonymous and not personal choices? If there were no Pol Pot, there would have been another Cambodian ready to fill the void. If there were no Marten Luther King, there would have been another black American ready to fill the void. What if everyone is capable of being a Gandhi or a Stalin and luck and circumstance are the only driving forces? After all, these leaders are only human. I bet both Idi Amin and Mother Teresa liked sunsets and long walks on the beach.