Who's Holding The Dynamite?

A story in the news a few years ago still comes to mind from time to time and makes me shake my head. It seems that a suicide bomber was dispatched to blow up a restaurant in downtown Tel Aviv. The bomb went off when the bomber was several blocks away from the target and only the bomber died. Subsequent investigation by the Israeli police revealed that the bomb was on a timer and it went off on schedule. So why wasn't the bomber in place? Witnesses came forward who saw the bomber dallying around this or that store, apparently in no hurry to get where they were going. As hard as this is to believe, the findings of the investigation were that the bomber forgot when they were supposed to be in place. It seems that they were distracted by other things and forgot the what, where and when of their mission.

Strange... but not without precedent. A lot of people forget that they are holding the dynamite. Hey, some grenades are duds and smoking doesn't kill everybody that tries it, but the fact is that most people who do stupid and dangerous things on a regular basis WILL pay a price for it.

They told us sex was free. [and, kids, don't think guys my age don't know anything about sex. My generation invented free sex. Madonna is about to celebrate her 50th birthday, remember?] The pill came along, allowing women to have sex without unwanted pregnancy. Abortion was made legal so that any mess-ups with the pill could be removed quietly in a doctor's clinic. Vietnam kicked over some dominoes that didn't stop falling until every establishment rule was questioned and most were abandoned. The Guess Who sang about living in a land where sex was free and natural and we could all live together.... and then the bomb went off. AIDS, Chlamydia, Genital Warts, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Herpes, HIV, Human Papillomavirus, Trichomaniasis... and the list goes on and on.

They told us condoms would protect us... but the bombs still went off.

They didn't tell us about destroyed hearts, broken bodies, shattered homes, jealously, unwanted and unloved children, women being abandoned with their babies.... all when the bomb went off.

They told us that life is shopping and life is stuff. God told Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply" but we are told to "shop till you drop!" Again, the generation that came of age in the 60s and 70s came up with the idea of first dropping all possessions and then launched into the Me Decade. A perfect storm of money, time and opportunity made materialism the main religion of the day. As early as "Father Knows Best" TV showed us that dads needed to go away to make money for cool new appliances and treats for the family left alone without him. This week, it is safe to say, Kohls, Goodys, Sears, Best Buy, Target... ALL of them will have sales. They have them every week. We see the "48 hours only!" sticker and we run to grab yet one more thing... and then the bomb goes off. By now we should have realized that we will never be satisfied with the stuff we are buying. The world will bleed you dry and leave you looking stupid in photos that are only four years old ["you wore THAT?"]. The world is left enriched. You are left poor and with a closet full of stuff you don't want to be seen in.

But the point is... you are left.

They told us to say whatever was on our mind, to let it all hang out, and to never repress ourselves: Express, don't repress! But then the bomb goes off when our words hurt others, when they end our career or marriage, or when they leave scars on our children. When the bomb goes off none of the self-help or self-actualization gurus are there to help pick up the pieces; none of them come to apologize.

They told us that we weren't created or designed. They told us that we were merely a cosmic accident; that our lives meant nothing and we were going nowhere. We were told that we had no special place in the universe; that we were no better than dogs or trees or spotted owls. Then the bomb went off when kids turned to drugs, shot up schools, and set homeless people on fire. Rather than contributing to the good of society, they demanded more from it and turned viciously on anyone who demanded something of them. We should have seen that coming. We should have spotted the dynamite.

In every crowd, in every situation, in every choice, ask yourself "who's holding the dynamite?" It's the world's job to hand out dynamite. It's our responsibility to make sure we aren't holding it... much less passing it on to others.