Quote (food for thought)

“The first step - especially for young people with energy and drive and talent, but not money - the first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art.”

-Chuck Palahniuk

Mental Masturbation

We've all done it...gotten in the mood, entertained it in our minds for a while, and gotten off...TRACK, that is. Most of us, yet some more than others are guilty of mentally masturbating.

What is mental masturbation you might ask?
Well, essentially, it's a fun term for "philosophizing". It refers to that method of thinking that starts out with something very pragmatic and substantial, but spirals into a chain of thoughts that are not conducive to the creation of anything applicable to reality. For example, there are many sub-conversations that could take place that attempt to ask the question of what the meaning of life is. This particular description causes me to think that the world's religions are representative of one big circle jerk.

Do you get where I'm going with this?

Anyway, aside from the fact that mental masturbation is exhausting to the mind, it raises another issue for me. It is completely underrated and not encouraged enough.

Like regular masturbation, mental masturbation is exercised in order to get in touch with a certain aspect of the self, and sometimes to perfect a skill. This said skill is thinking critically and deeply.

BUT SOCIETY DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT MY ABSTRACT THOUGHTS...(crickets chirping).

That's the problem. Society wants me to get into the most prestigious university, to rank the highest in all of my standardized testing, and then to make the most money. But what if I want to spend my life seeking, even if I never find the answers?

Nine times out of ten we are impressed by somebody's ability to discuss a given topic in depth. We are told to become better rounded by traveling and helping out in the community, and one would think that someone who has done things like that is a sophisticated person with a broader perspective.

The sad thing is that no matter how much society pushes us to partake in more abstract, "right-brained" activities, it doesn't take away from the fact that we still have a major fixation on standardized testing. That seems counter-intuitive to me.

Also, think about the confusion that surrounds most people's perception regarding what society's message to us is. We are responsible for decoded the encoded messages embedded in our media, some of which are implying the above statements about being a number. According to Hall (pg. 164), "if no meaning is taken, there can be no 'consumption'". The meaning of what the ideal candidate for university, graduate school, and life itself, is inconsistent, relative, and quite truthfully, unclear. 

I remember the state of mind I found myself in when I was a senior in high school; during the best time, too: applying to college! I remember asking so many questions about the quality of the reality I was experienced, and being able to do so from a very young age. Some of my teachers were actually impressed by this skill, yet I was unable to show that to a college admissions officer.

The truth is, aside from friends and a few professors perhaps (people who know me and appreciate me), no one is super impressed at a professional level with the fact that I speak four languages, have traveled to more countries outside of the US than states in the US, lived abroad for six months, and am constantly mentally masturbating. I use mysticism, psychology, philosophy, and sometimes art to explore my reality, and I also use emotions to question and guide me through most of my journey. However, taking both the SAT and ACT twice each and getting scores below the state average really put a damper on making me a competitive candidate for application to university. 

Abstract thinking is crucial for the development of the sense of self. It is what sets us all apart from one another, whereas our test scores and grades can be represented in numbers that are the same, or pretty close to the same. How does it make sense that in an individualistic society, where the sense of self is heavily relied upon, the need for abstract thinking is fickle? That said, if the goal is to be an independent, money-making machine, shouldn't it be obligatory that we build our senses of self, and therefore combine our marketable degrees with some time to "touch ourselves" to ensure optimum candidacy?

The Jewish Campus?

"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, 

you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles." 

-Sun Tzu, The Art of War

 

Students Eating in The Berg at AJU

College is a flawed system, and yet, each of us are participating in it. It's probably because all Jews go to college. So, now that we're here, we should know what it is we're participating in. 

What kind of school do we go to? And who are we?

It may have “Jewish” in its title, but  The American Jewish University (AJU) is officially a non-denominational college. “American” precedes “Jewish,” and yet we fly an Israeli flag on this campus right alongside our American one. A recent survey went around that asked students whether they identify as “American Jews” or “Jewish Americans.”  A hot topic of conversation, both in and out of the classroom, is whatever’s going on in Israel and the surrounding areas, especially with the recent escalation in violence. Last week a class I attended asked each student to riff for three minutes on their “relationship with Israel, and how it changed at AJU.” 

What is our collective identity as students of the American Jewish University? How does being at a Jewish school affect our future job prospects? Is it an asset or a detriment?

AJU has a population that is 5% non-Jewish, a fact that was explored last week in an article by Sara Gold in “New Voices” an online Jewish publication. In it, minority students express both their joys in learning about Judaism, and their frustrations. Notably, Cameron Dean had this to say, of his experience getting oriented:

“We did so many Jewish traditions, and everyone there already knew most of the stuff or believed it heavily … It was odd being the only person thinking, ‘What is he talking about?’ I felt physically and religiously out of place, because I don’t think a lot of people understood me or why I was there.”

It’s notable that the sentiment Dean expresses is one of isolation—a feeling that many others have expressed on this campus as well. I’ve heard students express their frustrations with being Orthodox on a campus that they see as largely secular, and students who are secular express frustrations with the insider-attitude of camp Jews who all share the same rituals, and know the same melodies to songs. I’ve heard students who are staunch supporters of Israel talk about feeling like their state is disrespected by professors in class, and I personally have felt pressure to “stand with Israel,” when I’m not sure exactly where I stand. 

The universal feeling seems to be isolation, and the fact that this lonely emotion is shared by so many strikes me as very ironic, and very Jewish.

Read Sara's Article: "We are the 5%: Being Non-Jewish At American Jewish University"