2010 passed without a single entry, but here I am again. I am not sure why I write in these things, except for myself.
I have become a hermit, submersed in a world of research, reading, writing, and learning teeny tiny details. It is tiring. There are lots of buzzwords. (Isn't that word fantastic? Because literally, it makes my head buzzzz with meaningless wordage.) I miss real life and especially my work. It has been extraordinarily difficult to maintain concentration and motivation when I don't get to do the work I love.
There is a point to all of this... right? There has to be.
*
I am fascinated by current situations in Tunisia and Egypt. We are living in an interesting, important time. I wonder what will be next for those countries?
*
More later. For now, back to buzzing around research papers.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Clark University
My alma mater is making big news this week for a controversial decision that stirred up debates on freedom of speech.
A few months ago, the Clark University Students for Palestinian Rights (CUSPR) invited Dr. Norman Finkelstein to speak on campus. Dr. Finkelstein is a controversial scholar who asserts, among other things, that Israel purposefully uses the memory of the Holocaust to grant itself immunity from criticism. He believes that Israel is a huge military power that has been allowed to commit human rights violations (specifically against Palestine) without question from the rest of the world.
Dr. Finkelstein, a child of Holocaust survivors, has views that are certainly controversial. He frequently engages in vigorous academic debate with scholars who do not support Palestine, and at times uses language that can be seen as disrespectful (calling the work of some pro-Israel scholars "nonsense" and "fraud"). However, it seems that Dr. Finkelstein's books are meticulously researched and well-written, and have garnered much praise from Noam Chomsky, among others.
In fact, one could argue that he actually honors the memory of the Holocaust by so adamantly arguing against its exploitation.
Apparently, Dr. Finkelstein was scheduled to speak at Clark on April 21. However, Clark's Hillel protested that the speech fell on Holocaust Remembrance Day. CUSPR was open to this comment and promptly tried to move Dr. Finkelstein's speech to April 23. Apparently, this date was still a problem for the University, as it fell too close to a conference being hosted by Clark's Holocaust Studies department. (This was even though Dr. Finkelstein was NOT scheduled to speak about the Holocaust. Rather, his speech was about the recent conflict in Gaza and the importance of a Palestinian state.)
Enter the President's office of Clark University. During a hastily scheduled tiny meeting, attended only by a few members of the President's office and several members of CUSPR, the President cancelled Dr. Finkelstein's speech altogether. According to members of CUSPR, the President of Clark likened Dr. Finkelstein's views to those of a white supremacist. Of course, the public does not know what was actually said during this clandestine meeting. Clark University's official statement was that the timing of Dr. Finkelstein's speech was "unfortunate." Later on, Clark wavered and decided that Dr. Finkelstein could speak at the University, but only months after the conference for Holocaust Studies.
Apparently, Clark is open to opposing viewpoints only if they are presented months apart.
Technically, this is not an issue of free speech, as Clark is a private institution that is allowed to invite whomever it chooses to speak on campus. I can concede that granting someone the honor of speaking on such a huge platform as a University stage should be considered carefully, and granted only to those who will promote thoughtful debate. I agree that we should probably not invite Matthew Shepard's murderers to speak at Clark (Clark University professor of Holocaust history Deborah Dwork made this comparison).
However, I wonder what message we are sending to up and coming Clark grads, as well as the rest of the world. I personally do not want to have my undergraduate degree from a university that is being associated with censorship. Dr. Finkelstein is a well-educated scholar and a thoughtful debater. It is time for America to hear the argument for Palestine. What better place to do this than a liberal university that claims to embrace diversity?
A few months ago, the Clark University Students for Palestinian Rights (CUSPR) invited Dr. Norman Finkelstein to speak on campus. Dr. Finkelstein is a controversial scholar who asserts, among other things, that Israel purposefully uses the memory of the Holocaust to grant itself immunity from criticism. He believes that Israel is a huge military power that has been allowed to commit human rights violations (specifically against Palestine) without question from the rest of the world.
Dr. Finkelstein, a child of Holocaust survivors, has views that are certainly controversial. He frequently engages in vigorous academic debate with scholars who do not support Palestine, and at times uses language that can be seen as disrespectful (calling the work of some pro-Israel scholars "nonsense" and "fraud"). However, it seems that Dr. Finkelstein's books are meticulously researched and well-written, and have garnered much praise from Noam Chomsky, among others.
In fact, one could argue that he actually honors the memory of the Holocaust by so adamantly arguing against its exploitation.
Apparently, Dr. Finkelstein was scheduled to speak at Clark on April 21. However, Clark's Hillel protested that the speech fell on Holocaust Remembrance Day. CUSPR was open to this comment and promptly tried to move Dr. Finkelstein's speech to April 23. Apparently, this date was still a problem for the University, as it fell too close to a conference being hosted by Clark's Holocaust Studies department. (This was even though Dr. Finkelstein was NOT scheduled to speak about the Holocaust. Rather, his speech was about the recent conflict in Gaza and the importance of a Palestinian state.)
Enter the President's office of Clark University. During a hastily scheduled tiny meeting, attended only by a few members of the President's office and several members of CUSPR, the President cancelled Dr. Finkelstein's speech altogether. According to members of CUSPR, the President of Clark likened Dr. Finkelstein's views to those of a white supremacist. Of course, the public does not know what was actually said during this clandestine meeting. Clark University's official statement was that the timing of Dr. Finkelstein's speech was "unfortunate." Later on, Clark wavered and decided that Dr. Finkelstein could speak at the University, but only months after the conference for Holocaust Studies.
Apparently, Clark is open to opposing viewpoints only if they are presented months apart.
Technically, this is not an issue of free speech, as Clark is a private institution that is allowed to invite whomever it chooses to speak on campus. I can concede that granting someone the honor of speaking on such a huge platform as a University stage should be considered carefully, and granted only to those who will promote thoughtful debate. I agree that we should probably not invite Matthew Shepard's murderers to speak at Clark (Clark University professor of Holocaust history Deborah Dwork made this comparison).
However, I wonder what message we are sending to up and coming Clark grads, as well as the rest of the world. I personally do not want to have my undergraduate degree from a university that is being associated with censorship. Dr. Finkelstein is a well-educated scholar and a thoughtful debater. It is time for America to hear the argument for Palestine. What better place to do this than a liberal university that claims to embrace diversity?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Economics?
Can someone explain to me how Republicans are against this stimulus package, even though many of these same Republicans approved of the last stimulus package? I don't claim to be any sort of economics expert, but it seems to me that the first stimulus bill entailed handing out billions of dollars to private corporations with absolutely no regulations or oversight whatsoever. This bill, on the other hand, outlines specific plans for the money, and allows for the general public to debate how the money should best be spent. How exactly do you support the first without supporting the second? It baffles me.
Unless, of course, I am just missing something. In which case, please, enlighten me!
I support the Jon Stewart stimulus package, which consists of sending the billions of dollars directly to American citizens so they can pay off their debt. It's win-win; citizens get a clean, debt-free slate, and the banks get cash again. A ridiculously simple plan, but doesn't it just make good common sense?
Partisan politics is so tired. Can't we have a real discussion anymore?
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In other, less important news, have you seen Steve Martin play the banjo? Incredible! The man has infinite talent.
I found Etta James' comments against Beyonce Knowles and President Obama to be in extremely poor taste. The thinly-veiled reference to slavery ("She deserves to have her ass whipped!") was particularly offensive. I know Ms. James is a legend, and that she's getting on in years, but come on! What happened to class?
I am currently in the process of applying to yet another year of externship. Also in the works: two IRB applications and my competency exam. If nothing else, graduate school is a never-ending process of proving, over and over again, that I deserve to be in graduate school.
*
End scene.
Unless, of course, I am just missing something. In which case, please, enlighten me!
I support the Jon Stewart stimulus package, which consists of sending the billions of dollars directly to American citizens so they can pay off their debt. It's win-win; citizens get a clean, debt-free slate, and the banks get cash again. A ridiculously simple plan, but doesn't it just make good common sense?
Partisan politics is so tired. Can't we have a real discussion anymore?
*
In other, less important news, have you seen Steve Martin play the banjo? Incredible! The man has infinite talent.
I found Etta James' comments against Beyonce Knowles and President Obama to be in extremely poor taste. The thinly-veiled reference to slavery ("She deserves to have her ass whipped!") was particularly offensive. I know Ms. James is a legend, and that she's getting on in years, but come on! What happened to class?
I am currently in the process of applying to yet another year of externship. Also in the works: two IRB applications and my competency exam. If nothing else, graduate school is a never-ending process of proving, over and over again, that I deserve to be in graduate school.
*
End scene.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Philosophy
Sometimes when clients are starting to get angry at work, I take them for a tour of the hospital, a short walk to calm them down. The other day I was walking an 11-year-old boy around, pointing out the various sites: "There's the lobby... the elevators... the mail room... oh, and there's the doctor's lounge."
"What's that?" he asked.
"The special room where doctors get to go and take a short break during the day."
Then he asked a deeply insightful, probing philosophical question - one that speaks to the very nature of our society: "Where is the janitor's lounge?"
"What's that?" he asked.
"The special room where doctors get to go and take a short break during the day."
Then he asked a deeply insightful, probing philosophical question - one that speaks to the very nature of our society: "Where is the janitor's lounge?"
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Inauguration
Never before have I watched the Presidential inauguration with the overwhelming feeling of "this is my President. He represents me." Many incredible moments... "Simple Gifts" with Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, normally unshakable Obama giggling before his oath, Obama instantly erasing the memory of the awkward oath with a breath-taking address, Reverend Lowery ending the ceremony with a prayer and a smile, the Obama girls dancing during the parade, and watching Mr. President and First Lady Obama exude pure class during the Inaugural Ball. A beautiful family, a President of incredible depth, and a country I am finally excited to be a part of.
Truly, a new era has begun. Bitterly partisan arguments and finger-pointing seem archaic. The louder Fox News screams and shouts about Obama, the less they are heard. The reporters who throw tantrums about Timothy Geithner missed the boat. This is a time for action, and the blame game has never seemed quite so petty.
Guantanamo closed. Stem cell research legalized. Missiles sent into Pakistan. An enormous stimulus bill. Obama has been President for less than one week and already things are happening. What a time we live in!
Truly, a new era has begun. Bitterly partisan arguments and finger-pointing seem archaic. The louder Fox News screams and shouts about Obama, the less they are heard. The reporters who throw tantrums about Timothy Geithner missed the boat. This is a time for action, and the blame game has never seemed quite so petty.
Guantanamo closed. Stem cell research legalized. Missiles sent into Pakistan. An enormous stimulus bill. Obama has been President for less than one week and already things are happening. What a time we live in!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Listening
I find people to be endlessly fascinating. This is why I've selected professional listener as my career. Pretty much any therapist, when asked why they've chosen this path, will tell you that they find people are endlessly fascinating.
Counseling is, perhaps, the only career that allows one the great honor of deeply entering another person's world. Take my job, for instance. Here are kids who are, in almost every sense of the word, completely different from myself. They meet me, along with an entire "team" of helpers, in a strange setting. They are expected to share their life secrets and repeatedly discuss their biggest mistakes. They have no reason whatsoever to trust me.
And yet, almost inevitably, they talk. Given a little bit of time, an open mind, and a curious ear, they talk. They grant me the incredible honor of hearing their opinions, thoughts, reactions, emotions, experiences, and wisdom. For a brief moment, they allow me to enter their world. The impact is profound.
My work is exhausting. It requires intense, total attention on exactly what the client is saying. It requires leaving your mind wide open and curious, constantly exploring their words while paying careful attention to body language, tone, facial expression. It demands that I be thoroughly and genuinely empathic, but not for a second get overwhelmed by emotion. These clients are in crisis, and it is my job to live it and at the same time contain it. I absorb part of their pain so they don't have to live this alone. I leave work each day mentally drained and emotionally exhausted.
And not for a second would I consider doing anything else with my life.
Counseling is, perhaps, the only career that allows one the great honor of deeply entering another person's world. Take my job, for instance. Here are kids who are, in almost every sense of the word, completely different from myself. They meet me, along with an entire "team" of helpers, in a strange setting. They are expected to share their life secrets and repeatedly discuss their biggest mistakes. They have no reason whatsoever to trust me.
And yet, almost inevitably, they talk. Given a little bit of time, an open mind, and a curious ear, they talk. They grant me the incredible honor of hearing their opinions, thoughts, reactions, emotions, experiences, and wisdom. For a brief moment, they allow me to enter their world. The impact is profound.
My work is exhausting. It requires intense, total attention on exactly what the client is saying. It requires leaving your mind wide open and curious, constantly exploring their words while paying careful attention to body language, tone, facial expression. It demands that I be thoroughly and genuinely empathic, but not for a second get overwhelmed by emotion. These clients are in crisis, and it is my job to live it and at the same time contain it. I absorb part of their pain so they don't have to live this alone. I leave work each day mentally drained and emotionally exhausted.
And not for a second would I consider doing anything else with my life.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sanity
Fewer than seven hours before I'm scheduled to leave home, yet again, I am awake and writing on blog. The leaving does not get easier, no matter how many times I leave.
Home is here, with my family and with old friends who know me as a person, not just as a strung-out graduate student. In the five days I have been here, I have felt more like myself than I have in the past few months. Everything here is easy. It fits. I fit.
I know that eventually, life will lead me back here, closer to home. For now, the journey is exciting and well worth it. Living away from home, Japan or Chicago, has been incredible. Facing the unknown has been terrifying and necessary. I am closer to becoming the person I want to be in life, and I realize that leaving the safety of home was an essential part of this.
But still it pains me to leave, yet again, the place where I feel most human and full.
Back to the grind first thing tomorrow, when the mundane demands of paper-writing and appointment-keeping suck me back in.
T minus 23 days until I'm home again.
Home is here, with my family and with old friends who know me as a person, not just as a strung-out graduate student. In the five days I have been here, I have felt more like myself than I have in the past few months. Everything here is easy. It fits. I fit.
I know that eventually, life will lead me back here, closer to home. For now, the journey is exciting and well worth it. Living away from home, Japan or Chicago, has been incredible. Facing the unknown has been terrifying and necessary. I am closer to becoming the person I want to be in life, and I realize that leaving the safety of home was an essential part of this.
But still it pains me to leave, yet again, the place where I feel most human and full.
Back to the grind first thing tomorrow, when the mundane demands of paper-writing and appointment-keeping suck me back in.
T minus 23 days until I'm home again.
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