I can understand Saddam’s talking like he will win the war, denial is common. What I don’t understand about people like him, or folks who do the various acts of evil of everyday life, is why can’t they see the bigger picture? Why do people who cause so much pain, anger, horror, terror, not see that when history is written, they will be the “bad guys”, the “monsters”, the forgotten? Don’t they see history, the madmen, the dictators, the people who might have been powerful in their day but are all but forgotten today? These people don’t really believe in God but you would think they would be concerned with what people think of them, or their status. People like Paul Shanley come to mind also, did he not think that the truth about him would one day come out? Don’t these people look in the mirror and see the monster others do? Even something on a smaller scale such as lying-don’t people who lie know that people talk to each other and end up seeing their lies clearly. I remember an executive in a former workplace who would tell 15 different versions of an event to 15 different people. These 15 people would end up talking to each other about the event, and end up realizing that this exec was a liar. So why lie? People will lose respect for you, not believe you again, put their trust in others. It seems that ultimately being a good person is a better overall strategy in life, in the short term and the long term. Yet generation after generation of humans keep committing every sin there is, and all the theology does not answer the question of why?