NPR; September 13, 2009
Last week at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, Marine Cpl. Mathew Nelson was sentenced to eight years for killing a fellow Marine in what's known as a "trust game." But it's not the first military fatality from this dangerous diversion. Trista Talton, who covered the story for the Marine Corps Times, says that in Nelson's unit, the game was primarily played by senior Marines. They would make it look like their pistols were ready to fire a round, then point the weapon, usually at a junior Marine. "Do you trust me?" they'd ask.

Games are exhilarating. What's the exhilaration element in the Trust game? It is taking a blind risk with death. However, the risk of death is everpresent, even in the simple act of driving a car. Why then increase the odds? Let us remember that death is a known quantity; suspense lies in how we will spend Life. Exhilaration is for living and not for dying. Becoming Self-conscious is exciting, becoming Self-minded is fulfilling and Self-building takes us to thrills which can truly kick our insides. Here is an excerpt from the Provocative Qur'an.

As young children we know what we like and dislike; these likes and dislikes color our behavior. Now adults are grown-up children who have become more artful and clever in disguising their selfish- ness under the humble masks of politeness and industry. Self-build- ing means that we take this selfish being, which is us, dismantle it and become, not angels, but rational beings that do things to benefit ourselves and others. But easier said than done! Dismantling our selfish being requires us to dismantle our worldviews. In order to understand what is expected of us, let us look at the beautiful Qur’anic imagery:

81:1–14 When the sun (with its spacious light) is folded up; When the stars fall, losing their luster;
When the mountains vanish (like a mirage);
When the female camels, ten months with young, are left untended; When  the  wild  beasts  are  herded  together  (in  the  human
habitations);
When the oceans boil over with a swell;
When the souls are sorted out, (being joined, like with like);
When the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned
For what crime she was killed; When the scrolls are laid open;
When the world on High is unveiled;
When the Blazing Fire is kindled to fierce heat; And when the Garden is brought near;
(Then) shall each soul know what it has put forward.

Now for the explanation: We will have to fold up the ‘whatever I want’ mentality (in other words, the sun of our being); our selfish desires(the stars) will have to lose their luster; our exaggerated sense of self-pride (the mountains) must vanish; our greed to possess people and things (equivalent to the coveted female camels of ancient Arabia) must be left untended; our wild passions to enjoy ourselves (the wild animals) must be tamed; instead we must, like the ocean swell, overflow with enthusiasm to become better persons. We should also become interested in sorting out good from evil. The world passes by injustice when no one cares about it (like infanticide in some cultures, and the unending massacres of innocent people all over the globe); we will have to develop a sense of accountability for such outrages. Finally, we will have to learn the connection between the finite and the infinite, that whatever we do is eternal; only such a bigger picture can help us overcome our infatuation with our petty selfishness. Let us, in short, create this wonderful revolution within us, so that the new me can journey successfully towards being good.

Hey Marines! Why rebel towards Death when Life itself is a passionate revolution.