Editor's Note
Robert Proudfoot
Issue date: 2/14/05 Section: features
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people are alienated. And for the people who actually do have someone
important, it means awkwardly and anxiously trying to fulfi ll their special
someone's wildest dreams. We wanted to write advice and commentary
for those of you don't have the perfect life. Be sure to read Saralyn
Marshall's advice about how to break up with someone on Valentine's
Day. I wholeheartedly agree with "quiet places and big spaces." Also,
whatever happened to giving everyone in your class a crappy paper
valentine with some lifesavers attached?
In a time of commercialized hype and false pretenses for the
concept of love, Jean Son's article draws us back into the 21st century
of family life. Her tale of her own family's struggles mirrors everyone's
personal journey to create "a happy family." With her candor and
perspective, she shares a message of both sadness and hope.
On a lighter note, Cecilia Estreich became our Band Aid for
this issue. She embraced the music scene and found it wanting. Also, her
article about Ben Folds and his Blair symposium certainly gives insight to
such a great musician. Ben Folds wrote a good portion of music for his
band Ben Fold's Five right here at the Blair School of Music.
I have never watched very many zombie movies. Frankly, they
intimidate me. Joe Bass doesn't seem to have a problem with them
though. He wrote an insightful and informed piece about the cyclical,
predictable, and societal nature of the zombie movie movement. At least
now I know more about my own fears.
When Laura Breslin, Versus Overseas Correspondent, told
me that she wanted to do a piece about the Middle East, I immediately
responded, "Don't talk about history." In my limited experience with
talking to people about the Middle East, I have found that any mention of
history is usually futile. Once mentioned, it deteriorates into a slugfest of
distortions, omissions, and a perpetual downward spiral into a primitive
gust of hot air. If a student wants to learn about the history of the Middle
East, they should take a class. Not just one class in the Jewish Studies
program or the History department but a wide range of courses taught
from many perspectives.
Laura Breslin's experiences in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel
run the gambit of the pulse of the Middle East. We felt that the story of her travels would stand alone in discussing some of the issues in the MiddleEast. While her personal experiences do not give the full picture (if there is a full picture), they are irrefutable because they are her own. These experiences give scope and context to all the news heard by Americans everyday. It is my hope that this travelogue will spark an interest to learn more about the Middle East. Giving the Middle East a real, human perspective shows that it is more than American Imperialism, more than Zionism, more than Pan-Arabism, more than religious fanaticism, and more than the ideologies the Middle East has come to represent. The article makes it clear that we are living with people trying to get by and trying to understand the world in which we all live.