Post-Colonialism

 

Jewish Colonialism

 When talk about the Middle East arises there is a widespread myth that Jews from Europe and the US came to ‘colonize’ and ’steal land’ from the ‘native’ Palestinian people to whom it rightfully belongs. This myth gained a lot of legitimacy after 1967 when Israel ‘conquered’ the West Bank. Words like 'occupation' and ‘settlers’ reinforced the concept of Israeli ‘colonization’ of ‘Arab’ land. Many assume that the Palestinians must be the true natives because they look authentically ‘brown’.

 

There is a theory that Jews are not one people but a just a collection of converts. Genetic studies find that Jews from East and West have more in common with each other, and are genetically closer to non-Jews of Middle Eastern origin than they are to the non-Jewish populations they lived amongst.

 In the past President Obama articulated another myth: Israel was created as a penance for the Holocaust. This myth obscures the truth that every Arab state is equally a creation of western colonialism. We almost never hear that 40 percent of Israel’s Jews trace their ancestry from Muslim and Arab lands. The majority of these Jews moved from one corner of the ‘Arab’ world to that Middle Eastern sliver known as Israel.

Until their expulsion Jews had been settled in Iraq. We can this that by when the Babylonians exiled Jews from Jerusalem almost 3,000 years ago. In the early 20th century, Baghdad was the most Jewish city in the world. The Jews can be said to have as legitimate a claim on Baghdad as Palestinians on Jerusalem! By the time the Arabs had conquered land largely inhabited by Jews and Christians in the 7th century, the Jews had been settled there for 1,000 years. People in the West tend to apply a common misconception to all Jews, borrowing the Christian notion that Jews have been punished to wander from land to land with no country to call their own. But not only have Jews always lived in Palestine, there was continuity of Jewish settlement in the Middle East and North Africa for 2,000 years.

That Jewish presence came to an end in the last 50 years. The Arabs said “This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades". The Arab governments declared two wars in 1948. Jews ‘stealing Arab land’ is an offensive inversion of reality. Jews in 10 Arab countries were stripped of their rights and in most cases dispossessed of their property. The World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries estimates that Jews in Arab countries lost many more billions of assets than the Palestinians, and four times as much land as the size of Israel itself.

 

Arab anti-Semitism created Israel no less than the Holocaust. The Arabs owe the Jews big-time. It’s time the world stopped viewing the conflict through a distorted lens.

Persuassive Essay

Arranged Marriages

 

 

 

           I’m here to explain the advantages of arranged marriages over “in love” marriages. Arranged marriages and whether they are beneficial or not has been a question which has been around almost as long as the concept of marriage itself. Arranged marriages are common in Indian, Pakistani and Orthodox Jewish circles. This is NOT to be confused with "forced marriages". 

 

            Arranged marriages are when the parents, or third party such as a matchmaker, research and make a calculated decision. They look into both man and woman to see if values, interests, and goals are compatible. This is somebody you can trust and someone you are open and honest with so they can match you up as accurately as possible. Everyone is solely interested in everyone else’s benefit.

 

          Experts claim that arranged marriages are far more likely to lead to a lasting affection then 'marriage of passion'. Harvard academic Dr. Robert Epstein has studied arranged marriages for over 30 years and interviewed 100 couples. He had found that among 'in love' matches the love begins to fade as much as half in 18 months as opposed to arranged marriages the love tends to grow gradually and surpasses the love of the unarranged marriage around 5 years down the line. Ten years later the affection felt by arranged marriages is twice as strong.

 Brian J. Willoughby, an assistant professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University said that another reason arranged marriages can work “because they remove so much of the anxiety about ‘is this the right person?”. “Arranged marriages start somewhat cold and heat up and boil over time as the couple grows. Non-arranged marriages are expected to start out boiling hot but many eventually find that this heat dissipates and we’re left with a relationship that’s cold.”

 

            The problem in part with love marriages, says Epstein, is that they’re based on a love that is perennially misunderstood, influenced by unrealistic media portrayals that present it as an uncontrollable, spur of the moment force. “We grow up on fairy tales and movies in which magical forces help people find their soul mates, with whom they effortlessly live happily ever after,” wrote Epstein in a cover article for Scientific American MIND. “The fairy tales leave us powerless, putting our love lives into the hands of the Fates.” Such relationships can implode when the characteristic love of the newly married dissipates as time goes on.

 Today the value of marriage to men has declined, and the quality of single life has improved. For men, it has become too easy to lose out socially, sexually, and financially. Men have this idea that once they settle down they loose out on their single social life, being committed to their spouse. They will also now gain so many more financial stressors which can be too much of an added stress for some. We can also see in today's age how the court system sheds a negative light on men's role in marriage; the man is left with child support and many times looses custody over his children. 

 

              In today's society marriage is becoming less common especially within the male population. According to 'Pew Research Center' women ages 18-34 say “having a successful marriage is one of the most important things in their lives.” Since 1997 numbers of how many women value marriage went from 28% to 37%. For men, the opposite occurred! The shared voicing this opinion of men valuing the importance of marriage dropped from 35% to 29%.

                                               

             I’m not here to convince anyone of the importance of marriage. Being raised with extreme family values is something I am thankful for and frankly I have a hard time relating to anyone who tells me "marriage is not necessarily their goal". Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and while not many people truly want to be single forever, the idea to some is becoming more and more appealing. Though in terms of how to go about getting married is something I am strongly in favor of. I believe that finding a relationship these days is hard enough. Every person is their own world and comes with their own interests, personality, and positive and negative traits. Marriage is not something to take lightly. When being set up through an arranged marriage so much of what can be a hardship or future issues that can arise, are filtered out. Nobody is perfect but at least issues are made known to both sides prior to such a commitment. One going into an arranged marriage knows what they are getting in to because research by one they trust has been done.

 

             Imagine you can start off dating someone knowing you won’t come across issues that don’t seem important at the time, though can break or make a relationship. It can be a technical issue, where you see yourself living, or if you would like to have kids or not. It’s interesting, or shall I say ironic how most people research and thoroughly look into any major decision, business deal, or life plan, though when it comes to marriage- a major life decision, this is not the common way to go about it.

 

            Wouldn’t you rather go into a marriage feeling safe and secure and build a strong relationship that will deepen as time goes on, then one that can diminish?

 

 Comedy on Dating; Louis CK

Queer Theory

The Gay Writer Who Died in Cold Scotch

                 Probably the most famous American writer who is known to be gay is Truman Capote. His most famous books are “Breakfast at Tiffanys” and “In Cold Blood.” I didn’t read the books but I watched both movies. In cold Blood was so suspenseful--my heart was beating like crazy and I needed to use the bathroom but I waited until the last minute. Mr. Capote won many awards for writing “In Cold Blood”—a murder mystery (I think it was a true story, it certainly seemed as if it were true. Ironically the book almost killed him. While writing the book, Capote like many writers tried to tap into his creative powers. So he typed and tapped and when he got stuck in a writer’s block, he drank his favorite scotch. When he ran out of scotch, he drank whatever was left. Sometimes the alcohol didn’t work, it probably made it worse, but that’s when he mixed in drugs like cocaine. When the hangovers banged his head, Dr. Scotch (that’s what he called his bottles, it didn’t matter if it was scotch or vodka) prescribed him morphine. In the beginning, his boyfriend and lover, Jack Donfey, who was also a writer but not nearly as great bought most of the alcohol and drugs. Truman loved him for bringing him alcohol. Or maybe Truman loved the drugs more. I’ll do anything for another bottle of Scotch, Truman said to Donfey. If you were a dog holding a bottle of Scotch in your mouth, I would kiss you on dog-gone lips. You’re my bitch, he often said to Donfey. It bothered Donfey, but Truman’s wit could not be stopped by manners.

             But when Truman became really addicted, Donfey left Truman alone in their house. Donfey couldn’t stand to see Truman suffer so much. After Truman finished writing “In Cold Blood,” he was a wreck. He checked himself into a rehab. It was not his first and was not his last time. But he was so high from the success of the book, he fell and crashed lower than ever. His baby, his book, brought Truman much fame, but his fame did not satisfy him. Truman wanted a real baby, a son. “Donfey, you’re worse than a bitch. At least a bitch can make a bastard. I’m wasting my seed on you.” That really hurt donfey. But it was a problem that hurt Capote to the core.

                Truman wrote some short novels and short stories after In Cold Blood was published. But it was downhill after that book. He wanted to surpass it with something better. He tried to write without the drugs and alcohol but he couldn’t. So he went back to his “friends” but they didn’t help him anymore. Murderers chased him. The rehab psychiatrist told him he was hallucinating. could such a great writer have reached his greatness without “cheating” with performance drugs?! In 1984 he died from liver disease. Maybe like the athletes he might have raced his bicycle a little slower, but in the long run he could have probably reached greater heights of creativity. He could have gotten high from the achievement of writing award winning books and stories. And perhaps his son would have even surpassed him. That would have made him happy.

 

 

History Re-Written

Journal Entry

17^th Century
 

       Living with my two stepsisters is not easy. They are extremely messy and overweight! Being that they are not my real sisters, I feel no connection in terms of establishing a relationship with them. I find myself cleaning up daily after them and the way my stepmother keeps the home is gross. However, I really don’t mind cleaning and I actually enjoy it for the most part. I do remember cleaning with Mother as a child, cleaning helps me remember her and keeps my mind off how much I miss her. 

        There’s a ball coming up my stepmother thinks it would not be great for me to go to. She keeps trying to convince me that there is no real ball. I do know its her evil plan to not let me go. She doesn’t think I’m emotionally stable and being that I’m not taking my meds for my OCD, my hallucinations are coming back. The doctors say that all the hallucinations occurred and were triggered because of my mom's death. I love when I am in a daze, though. I see my mother then and she talks to me! More recently I’ve been also talking to mice and riding in pumpkins. And I can't seem to remember if all those are dreams or if I am awake.
       
         Yes, I honestly don’t really care to go to this ball, yet I would definitely not want one of my stepsisters to end up with him, the Prince. With my beauty and charm I have no doubt that I can lure the Prince in and manipulate him to end up with me. I just have to find my jeweled dress and hope that my glass slippers still fit! 

 

                                                                                                                                  -Cinderella

Culture

My Background:

            There are so many stories and details in how my parents found and chose to follow the religion I was raised in, and now follow on my own accord. My parents were both born Jewish, as any child of a Jewish mother is born, though they were not raised keeping much of their religion. As they grew older and studied they both became associated with the same group within Orthodox Judaism, called Chabad-Lubavitch. There are many different orthodox Jews and within Judaism there are many sects. Each sect follows the same one bible and same rabbis and laws. Within each sect stem different ideologies and different Rabbis. The Rabbi we look up to and follow is Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, whom we refer to as "The Rebbe". Chabad-Lubavitch is one the largest groups of Judaism. Our main philosophy's focus is Mind over heart, and finding g-dliness in mundane matters. The Rebbe was one recognized worldly and preformed many miracles through his blessings. His way on life and followers are known to view life through pure Happiness with a strong belief in G-d.

My Story:

         Within my religion having a family life and many children is looked greatly upon. When my parents got married it was difficult for them to conceive children. Many people, Jewish or Non-Jewish would write letters or stand in line to have a word with the Rebbe. He would advise people on many decisions and bless them. My parents went to the Rebbe to get a blessing for a child which they received. During my mom's pregnancy there were complications and advice from doctors to have an abortion. My parent got in contact with the Rebbe again, who strongly blessed them. Months later my parents gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby girl, my older sister.

          After going through not having children for awhile and a complicated pregnancy my mom wrote a thank you letter to the Rebbe, thanking him for his blessings. As she was writing she looked out of her front window and saw her childless friend, and put her name in at the bottom, requesting a blessing for her. Nine months from when she wrote the thank you letter her friend gave birth to a boy. A couple weeks before I was born, a surprise to my parents.

We strongly believe that when you pray for someone else you get blessed, you get blessed first. I strongly feel connected to this man and know that I was born from a great blessing, a blessing originally for someone else. 

Me and My Older Sister

Deconstruc​tive Analysis

 

This advertisement looks very structured which makes it believable. All the boxes are aligned and from an artistic point of view it’s brought together well by incorporating the orange from the beginning to in the end of the ad.

When reading this ad, at first it seems like a catchy phrase, believable, and true! But if you think about it, this phrase is pretty ironic. “America runs on Dunkin” it’s actually because of Dunkin that most can’t run.

          Dunkin Doughnuts motto is EXACTLY opposite of what it is. It is proven to be unhealthy. Here we have an advertisement; advertising about running and exercising and even has a picture of a man running!! We also see a picture of America showing that this is an accepted branch by all. When globally accepted things become much more believable.

          In this advertisement it was very smart of them to leave out the word “doughnuts” something that does not help people run. Today in society these images and statements run through the subconscious mind, making one believe how not so unhealthy or bad it is. I personally never grew up eating doughnuts or bagels regularly; it was a ‘once-in-awhile’ type of food. Here we have a huge chain store where that’s most of what they sell, unhealthy products.

 

 

An HONEST Dunkin Doughnuts AD would look as follows:

 

Copy of Nechamas Art

Slideshow :  Copy of Nechamas Art