August 20th: Separation of State and Stupid

The limits of ignorance and ridiculousness are boundless. In this week’s example of “You SO can’t do that,” we visit Newport, Tennessee, where we see a judge taking a totally new direction in regards to fair decision-making.

A man and a woman are getting a divorce, and in the process, need to decide whether their 7-month old son should share his father’s or mother’s last name. They take it to court and are met by Judge Lu Ann Ballew.

Here is where things get out of hand. When the judge is hearing the trial, it comes to light that the son’s name is Messiah. Subsequently, in her decision, the judge declared that not only must the baby change his last name, but also his first name. The boy had to change his name to Martin, because the name Messiah “is a title and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ.”

The parents are, of course, livid. They didn't go to court to come up with new problems for their son, only to solve the last name debate. To be told that your name isn’t acceptable because you stole it from Jesus is, to say the least, a formative moment in an infant’s short life.

It would be easy to blast this woman for her inability to separate Church and State, which is an imperative part of the judicial system. The courts are meant to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the laws of whichever state in which they preside, and this most definitely falls outside the limits of those laws.

What is potentially more ignorant and disconcerting is the part of this that is totally arbitrary. The judge simply heard the name and got offended. She didn’t have any legal basis upon which to change this boy’s name. Her only defense was that, living in the county in which they did, the boy could have been subject to marginalization or bullying. First of all, wouldn’t that be interesting. “What did you do today, Jimmy?” “Oh, not much, Mom, just bullied Messiah.” On a more thoughtful level, though, this act of emotional response rather than calculated rationalization brings to light a scary idea. If the American people are to be living their lives according to the laws set forth by not only Congress but also the judicial system, we need to have some degree of faith (no pun intended) in those individuals to do what is right, despite their own personal issues with it. Nobody was going into this court room to hear what Lu Ann thought about things. They were there to see how Judge Ballew would rule in accordance with rationality and legal code.

This of course comes in the same week that a Louisiana Republican came forward and publicly stated that she didn't know that when she voted for religious school vouchers, that this didn't only include Christian schools. It has been a tough week to be, oh, I don’t know, rational in the United States.

August 12th: Comedy and Tragedy

This week, I had the opportunity to see a musical that was, to say the least, creative in its analysis of society’s ability to laugh at itself. To say the most, it was downright heinous.

“The Book of Mormon” was as raunchy and insensitive, insulting and affronting as could possibly be. And you know what? It was hilarious. It was fun, it was clever, and it allowed almost everyone at some point or another to feel like they were the butt of the joke, and that that was OK.

The timing of things couldn't have been better. I happened to have seen the play just a few weeks after having a very interesting conversation with several individuals of different backgrounds who were discussing, for lack of a better way to describe it, the difficulty of living in a world with so many social and environmental challenges. We discussed everything from sexuality and gender stereotypes to obesity, from socio-economic environments to the educational system. While we covered an incredible array of material, there were two major concepts that I found interesting and challenging.

First of those challenges was the frequency with which we allow people to pass the buck. It is so easy to blame obesity on food producers or genetics or a wide variety of outside sources. And while that may be totally valid, it fails to get to the root of an important issue: anyone can, if presented with the opportunity, change their circumstances. I think we are writing blank checks that we can’t cash if we allow too many different groups of people to say that they have no control of themselves because they are in challenging circumstances. While I appreciate the fact that many are in extremely challenging circumstances, that is not to say we, as people, don’t have an obligation to better ourselves. Plus, some of the statistics are a little skewed.  One of the major arguments for the obesity issue is that it costs an incredible amount of money to eat healthy foods, while fast food is cheap and easy for low income families. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, though, 35.7% of Americans are obese, with an individual of minority background actually having a higher chance of obesity as income increases. It also goes on to say that obesity became more prevalent across all educational and economic scales from the early 90s to 2007. That clearly means that, while obesity may more difficult to monitor at lower incomes, it is something that is becoming a wide-scale issue, and one that does require some degree of control and restraint.

We cannot continue to blame “society” for the reason women wear bikinis. As much as women wear them because men want to see them, most women want to be seen, whether by men or by their peers. We cannot continue to blame the government for our obese who don’t take advantage of their environment to get their weight under control. We have an obligation to start evaluating not just what someone else can do for me to better my life, but how hard I’m willing to work to make my life better.

Second of all, it dawned on me how difficult it is to navigate these conversations for fear of insulting someone. I have no idea what the political correct term is for a black person in America is. I've heard from some that “African American” is the best bet, while others say that there is nothing “African” about many black people. I've heard thousands of options, and it seems that someone is always insulted. This gets even more complicated with those with developmental disabilities. I have difficulty with what I have heard as “differently abled,” because it fails to get to the root of the need for personal care and attention that these individuals need. With all that in mind, it would be a tragedy if certain groups of people were left out of important conversations not because of their need to be involved, but rather because it is such a mine-field for a neurologically typical white guy to find a way not to insult, well, everyone.

This was one giant rant, all spurred on by a funny musical, and meant to be a satire. But with that satirical comedy, we have the opportunity to look at the world around us and make it better. I can’t claim that I’m doing a good job, but I’m going to try. We need to take ourselves a little more seriously and, at the same time, laugh at ourselves a little more. It’s all about finding the balance.

August 6th: Punishment Befitting the Crime

For the first time in almost 10 months, Alex Rodriguez’s name appeared in the lineup for the New York Yankees. It just so happened that his 2013 debut came the same day that his 211 game suspension for his alleged steroid use.

Alex took the field to a chorus of boos from the Chicago crowd, and proceeded to go 1 for 4 with a bloop single and a strikeout. If I were the starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, though, things would have gone very differently.

I believe that the game should be played with integrity. I've always been very outspoken about the fact that professional athletes are, first and foremost, entertainers, and therefore are expected to be public servants, in a sense. That being said, athletes also have the expectation of being held to the standard that viewers set for them.

There is a debate that, if baseball players are meant to truly entertain, who cares if they are taking steroids to do so. Fans want to see the home runs, and they don’t care what makes that happen. While this may be true, there are rules in place that restrict that kind of behavior, and whether it should or shouldn't be is a moot point. If you are doping, you are saying to the league and to its fans that the rules don’t matter, and therefore demonstrate a lack of respect for the game and its fans.

Rodriguez is not the only player who was given suspensions today. 12 others were handed bans for 50 games, each for violating the MLB drug policy. The reason that Rodriguez’s suspension is so much worse is that not only was he involved in taking the drugs, but also encouraging other players to use and trying to obstruct the MLB investigation when things got bad.

All of that being said, my approach as a pitcher would have been simple: take all of A-Rod’s at-bats away from him. If he is unwilling to take the suspension and get out of the game, do the dirty work for him. Every single at-bat, A-Rod should have either been hit by a pitch or intentionally walked, essentially taking away his opportunity for success.

This is, of course, not the cleanest of strategies, considering it would allow him to get on base every time, but this move is transcendent of the competition of the game. In the same way that his acts tarnished the game, it would be a symbolic gesture of the other team to say that it doesn't matter whether or not he gets on base, but the bigger picture of refusing to allow him to demonstrate success.

This is an extreme sentiment, but one that comes from a serious disdain for cheating in baseball. Bud Selig has done incredible work in the last few months to attempt to clean up the game, and Alex Rodriguez has not only been at the heart of the issue, but been a direct contributor to why the process has been so long and painful. That being said, the man needs to be shown that a lack of respect for the great game of baseball will not bode well for him.

Playing baseball is a privilege, and one that so few people get to experience. Alex Rodriguez has tarnished the game, and deserves a life ban. While that may not be legally realistic, baseball needs to show the player that he is a tiny piece of the game, and can and will be swiftly replaced. The faster the better.

August 4th: Applying yourself

A few short days ago, I noticed a tweet that got me thinking. Indiana University alerted its followers that the application for the class of 2018 was now active. First of all, the class of 2018 was terrifying, considering how long a way that feels. Looking back though, it reminds me of what it was like, not so long ago, to apply to schools.

I remember the hard work of high school, trying to decide what classes a college would think are most appealing. I remember cramming my schedule with as many extra-curricular as I could manage, hoping to strike the most attractive balance. I remember the college essays, trying to put together the most beautiful 500 words that I could to sum up exactly who I was and why they should want me.

What I remember most, though, was the anxiety of the application process. I remember waking up every morning, running to my computer to check if any colleges had decided that I was worthy to be a student. I remember both the excitement at getting in somewhere that fit me, and I remember being told I wasn’t good enough.

There are so few ways that a college can truly evaluate you. Every year around this time we hear a debate about whether or not the ACT and SAT standardized tests are effective barometers of the talent of a high school student. While I agree that a score on a single test is not an acceptable way of evaluating an individual and their intellect, I also appreciate the difficulty of the decision for colleges. Standardization is the only way that colleges can evaluate two students from two completely different backgrounds and upbringings and see how they compare. When you can accept a finite number of applicants, there need to be different standards for admittance. While it isn't pretty, it is absolutely necessary.

That being said, the tests are not nearly enough to gain an understanding of a well-rounded, holistic individual, the likes of which a university wants. The most undervalued part of the application process is the extra-curricular end of things. That is where you best see what kind of person student might be.  A student who is an all-state athlete demonstrates a passion and commitment that, while exemplified on a sports field, seems indicative of determination overall. A teen who has put in thousands of man-hours to a club or organization that they care enough about should be looked at more favorably because of that dedication.

All of that taken into account, it need not be said that the college process is a little out of whack. The stress and pressure that all high school seniors feel is, while a rite of passage, is one that can cause an individual to lose faith in himself or herself. While getting into college is an important moment in the life-cycle process, it cannot be forced. As someone with plenty of experience in that department, it is important to keep in mind that there is a good college opportunity out there for everyone. And while it may be herd, patience can go a long way toward making the decision-making process far less stressful.

June 10th: A Summer Investment

Like most young Jewish Americans, I have spent the past few weeks packing and preparing for summer camp. All over the country, the excitement is spreading.

My family has experienced both participating and staffing three different Union for Reform Judaism camps, each with its own flavor and culture. Yet, one very important detail permeates all three: they are training grounds for the creating of the best and brightest that Judaism has to offer.

All too often, the future of organized Judaism is filled with doom and gloom. Analysts or anyone with a blog has commented about how far fewer teens are getting involved in Jewish activities. There have been countless efforts to make things more enticing, more exciting, more active for teens to get involved in Jewish activities.

It seems as though summer camp has been a hug part of the visioning for future engagement. With one summer away at a URJ summer camp, any teenager has the ability to learn who they are in a way that will totally alter their Jewish experience.

Jewish camping allows participants to test their limits. A boy with a deathly fear of crowds receives a guitar and finds his voice. A girl who has struggled to make friends in school goes home with dozens of new relationships. A group of twenty comes together in a way that none of them thought possible a mere 4 weeks prior. Anyone who has ever gone to a Jewish summer camp knows what it is like to go back to school in August and feel the need to explain themselves to all of their school friends. “It’s a camp thing. You wouldn’t understand.”

Jewish camping allows participants to network. I have, throughout my first two years of college, faced the possibility of getting stranded in an airport. No matter what city I’m in, I know that there is someone out there that I can call who would be willing to give me a couch to sleep on and a meal to eat. Without camp, that would have been impossible. I’m just two short years out of high school, yet there are far fewer friends from my school time that I would care to call than from my time at summer camp.

Jewish camping allows participants to grow. From the very first moment a young person steps onto camp, there are a collection of role models walking around. It doesn’t take much searching to find someone to emulate, someone to respect. Growing through the system, those same children who looked up to their counselors one day becomes the leader for the next group of young Jews. We have a phrase for that. It’s generational leadership. As someone who has experienced camp since I was 10, I know what it is like to see those unattainable goals, those incredible men and women who are the best people I know, and to grow up hoping to be that cool one day. It isn’t until someone thanks you for inspiring them that you realize that you have just past down the greatest gift that camp can offer.

As I get older, camp becomes a more difficult decision. Internships beckon. Job opportunities abound. The urge to advance one’s career presses sometimes suffocating. But nothing in the whole world prepares you for the adventure that is the “real world” quite like summer camp.

If you aren’t already, investigate signing up for camp. It may seem daunting or foreign, but within moments, you will know that it is the place where you belong.

If you are already signed up, get ready. Because the summer of 2013 is gearing up to be the best one yet.

Root Root Root for the Home Team

Wrigley Field is a hotly contested issue right now. The Cubs are struggling with the city of Chicago for several different points, including the ability to advertise and a proposal for significant building renovations. Alternative playing venues have discussed, including a Schaumburg team offering to give their playing field to the Cubs for the remainder of the season, as well as an offer from the mayor of Rosemont to build a new stadium in the Chicago suburbs.

For only the second time in several years, I had the chance to go back to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs take on the Rockies this past week. The drive down to the city at 5 o’clock was painfully slow, and parking was a pain in the butt, but once we made it to the park, I had that moment that all baseball fans know so well: walking through the tunnel until it opens up on the expanse of the field.

It was a beautiful night for baseball, and the Cubs did as we expected: lost. Yet the atmosphere was more electric than a sub-par team should expect from their home fans. Walking around the concourse, I was struck by the sheer number of Cubs hats, t-shirts, and smiles adorned on so many fans, a fairly significant crowd for a Tuesday night game.

As a college student who spends 10 months of the year outside of the Chicago area, it was a pretty special opportunity to spend some time at a landmark I so idolize. Getting Cubs baseball on TV is a rare treat in mid/southern Indiana, and getting the chance to get it at its source was particularly wonderful.

You would be hard pressed to find a more dedicated and passionate Cubs fan out there than I am. Yet, if it was possible, I became even more enthusiastic about my team after I went to school. Being surrounded by people from all around the country and world, it can be difficult to find any real connection to where you are from. Sports teams are one of the ways to connect with the city that you call home. While my interest in the Bears has never been particularly rabid, this past season I found myself keeping up with the Monsters of the Midway far more than ever before. It wasn't because of some new-found appreciation for Jay Cutler. It was because the Chicago Bears represented my home town, and offered me the opportunity to connect with my friends and family who may live in different places, but will always love sweet home Chicago.

Now that the Cubs are considering moving to the suburbs, going to Cubs games would be far easier. Instead of an hour long Odyssey with limited parking and a relatively small ballpark comparatively, we could have a twenty minute trip to a new mega-stadium, built to match the size and commitment of the Chicago fan base.

If the move happened, though, home would be a little different. Going to a Cubs game would be easier, but it would also require a whole new collection of memories. The pair of seats down the first base line where I caught the ball tossed by the Montreal Expos First Base Coach with my dad wouldn't be there anymore. The seats near the right field foul pole where I saw the Cubs and Padres get into a fight wouldn't exist. The place where, as a small boy, I imagined playing, umpiring, managing, broadcasting, whatever it may be, it would all have to move, to change.

In a college student’s life, there is plenty of change. Sometimes it is nice to know that, no matter how far away you go, you can always come back to watch the home town team play ball.

May 13: The Hero We Have

It has been impossible to avoid hearing about the news coming out of Cleveland this past week. Three women had been held captive in a house for almost a decade, unbeknownst to the surrounding neighborhood. Only this week, when a neighbor heard a girl trying to escape, did anyone have any idea what was going on.

The man who heard Amanda Berry was Charles Ramsey, a 43 year old African American man, who lived next door. Almost overnight, he became one of the most recognizable men in America, at least for the remainder of his 15 minutes of fame. He has been touted as the hero of the case, having done what was right and what was necessary in a time of need for a young woman he didn’t know.

As any YouTube search of this man will tell you, there is far more going on in this character than the title “hero” can clearly state. First of all, the man is clearly brasher than what many believe to be the common model of hero. His humorous spin on a horrible situation includes a description of the captor’s genital endowment, as well as a menu for the interaction he had had with his monster of a neighbor. His colorful antics have led to a viral video campaign, both of his initial interview and subsequent “remixed” editions.

Within days of his “heroic” actions, however, the news media was having a field day with this man. A record of his past with run-ins with the law have surfaced, forcing the man to answer questions on a public scale that otherwise could have remained private. His description of his meal during the time of the incident, McDonalds, has been scrutinized for whether or not he was looking for some sort of public relations interaction with the corporation. His face now even appears tattooed on the leg of a man in Cleveland who was so moved by Ramsey’s actions.

With one decision, this man not only put himself into position to do what is right in one given moment, but also set himself up for intense media surveillance for however long the public sees fit. In many ways, this has overshadowed the real issue at hand. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight are now able to return home to their families after their terrible ordeal. Ariel Castro, the man who kidnapped and raped these three women, is finally revealed for the heinous excuse for humanity that he is. And the world is just a little better off knowing that this one case has been brought to a close.

Yet the story is continually muddled. The public wants a hero, wants to be able to put up a protagonist against the horror that was Ariel Castro. For every bad guy, there must be a good guy. And in that moment, Charles Ramsey was a good guy. He did what was needed of him in the moment. In no way shape or form does that require him to become a celebrity, though, and it is up to the public not to be too disappointed when he doesn’t take off his glasses and reveal a cape and super powers.

It doesn’t take a hero to be heroic. It takes a good man, doing the right thing. Something more people should strive to do more often.