As much as we think we should be able to understand, control and legislate proper behavior, it has never worked out

Wed, 04/17/2013 - 9:45pm

Bill Packard

Being an entrepreneur and operating a small business is a full time job, and then some. There’s a quote that goes something like this: “Operating a small business is leaving a 40-hour-a-week job so you can work 80 hours at something you love.” That’s not it exactly, but you get my drift. Every once in a while, we need to take a break from business and that’s what I’m doing this week. I want to talk about the Boston Marathon incident.

A terrible incident happened at the Boston Marathon in 2013. That’s the fact. Beyond that, we know nothing. People are speculating and videos, pictures and theories are rampant on Facebook, other social media and the mainstream news. People are desperate for an explanation. They want to know who is responsible. I understand that. The people who were hurt will still be hurt. The people that passed away will still be dead, whatever the explanation is. Whether foreign terrorists, domestic terrorists, or just angry people are responsible it will not change the outcome. I do think it’s important to recognize that the businesses in the area stepped and offered safety and anything else that would help the situation.

There seems to be an unquenchable thirst for the names of the people responsible as though somehow that will bring closure. It hasn’t to me and I doubt that it ever will. Before I go any further, I’ve read some articles that suggest that the Boston bomb squad detonated these devices to get more funding or that somehow the federal government is responsible for this event. You are welcome to believe what you want, but to suggest that the public servants that put their lives on the line every single day for the safety of the citizens they are sworn to protect would have any involvement in this is shameful.

Here’s what I’ve come to believe. There are things that people do that have no explanation. I don’t understand Oklahoma City. I don’t understand the World Trade Center bombing. I don’t understand 9.11, or Columbine or Newtown or what just happened in Boston. Identifying a perpetrator or several still doesn’t explain why. The why is what I don’t get and the why is what is really important, I think. What difference does it make who did what? Understanding why they did it is what can help us to move forward. Unfortunately, why will probably be very elusive forever because there is no rational, sane explanation for things like this.

As much as we think we should be able to understand, control and legislate proper behavior, it has never worked out. We live in a very free society that most people on this planet can only read about. Along with that freedom comes vulnerability. We can’t have it both ways. We put ourselves out there. We live our lives and we need to know that we are vulnerable. In several bombings rental trucks were used. Should we ban the rental of trucks? It’s very possible that the bombs used in Boston arrived in backpacks. Do we ban backpacks from public events?

No. We have to accept that troubled people will do whatever it takes to carry out their mission unless somehow we can intercept them. The only way we can possibly think that we could intercept them would mean that we would compromise to some degree their personal rights. That’s the real issue. Making these things personal and individual and understanding that individuals are responsible for their actions is really the best that we can hope for.

Hug you kids if you can. Tell them you love them wherever they are. Love every minute of life and always be vigilant. That’s as good as it gets. And we are blessed to be able to do that.

Bill Packard lives in Union and is the founder of BPackard.com. He is a speaker, author, small business coach and consultant.

More Bill Packard