I go to the cabinet in the living room and open it to look for spare change: quarters, dimes, nickels, etc. The first thing I notice is the bottle of Absolut vodka sitting there, waiting for someone to take it from its quarters and drink it for recreation or out of a desire to hide their pain. I resist the allure of this vodka and look only for the change that I know is there. And yet, I take it out to look at it to remind myself of why I don’t use it in the first place. The alcohol is not as innocent as it appears. Substances like that led to spousal and child abuse in my paternal family when used in large quantities. The strong socioeconomic problem of poverty drove my grandfather to use vodka to drown his sorrows, but instead led to the release of aggression and pent up rage on my grandmother, father, and his siblings. These constant beatings may have roughed up my dad physically, but they taught him to be morally and ethically upright with his own children. To this day, I use this anecdote to justify not drinking more than I should. I already exhibit temperamental behavior and don’t want to make it worse on others and myself by pushing that behavior to alarming levels through the use of alcohol. Furthermore, I don’t need to drink to have fun. The people who I hang out with provide me with more than enough fun and enjoyment than any such substance could ever provide me with. I put the bottle down and close the cabinet with a grin on my face. Nothing that smells so abhorrently and behaves so evilly will ever tempt me into ruin.
Author Archives: Daniel Golub
A War in the Shadows
With the current heated and bitter conflict in the Middle East between Israel and its unfriendly and hostile neighbors, many people rely on the media to receive news of the goings-on in the region. However, these people don’t get the real truth behind the conflict due to the bias behind the media. Israeli director Dror Moreh seeks to solve the problem with his new documentary, The Gatekeepers, which uses real life experiences from six retirees of secret Israeli safety agency Shin Bet. Shin Bet, also known as Shabak, was initially established in 1949 to address internal issues in the very new country of Israel, which was unfortunately divided due to ideological differences. But after the Six Day War of 1967, the organization was reoriented to gather intelligence in the West Bank and Gaza in order to counteract terrorism. This agency is independent from the Israel military and political structures, as its operatives answer directly to the prime minister and sometimes act as scapegoats for political failures. As the interviews of the six men show, Israel has not always been successful in its attempts to prevent conflict and has in fact resorted to fighting fire with fire in order to win out in the conflict. Some of these actions include a “targeted assassination” of Hamas militants (Hamas is a prominent Palestinian militaristic movement whose actions prevent peace between Arabs and Israelis), “moderate physical pressure” that could even be fatal to Palestinian prisoners of war, and other tactics used under the threat of occupation. These six men also address some controversial problems that have threatened to undermine Israeli politics, such as the deaths of 2 suspects in a bus hijacking in 1984 that led to the subsequent resignation of Shin Bet director Avraham Shalom and threatened the downfall of Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s regime. The agency also failed to act in time to predict the outbreak of the first Intifada and wasn’t able to stop the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a right wing Jewish extremist in 1995. Yaakov Peri, who served as the director of Shin Bet during the first Intifada, states that the job makes one lean towards a left wing outlook. Although these left wing politicians favor a two state solution, they all share a professional philosophy of ruthless and sentimental pragmatism which only increases their worry about the current state of Israel politics. Overall, this documentary has a very dark mood due to the stories traded from the memories of eyewitnesses who were and are still privy to doubts and ambivalent emotions. It is through these emotion driven stories that the audience will learn of a collective history of past and present Israeli politics with unbelievable clarity from a fair minded perspective. This documentary is sure to shake the foundation of people’s beliefs, however extreme or moderate they are. The gears in the minds of the people will start to move and more strategic means will be taken to fix the mistakes of the past to ensure a safer and more profitable future for not only Israel, but the entire Middle East.
What do you think of the approach of this documentary? Do you think that exposing the truths of Israeli politics could compensate for the mistakes of the past? Will this help bring awareness and intrigue towards the situation in the Middle East? What are the possible implications of this documentary in Israel and the Middle East?
Friends 4Ever
This is my German Shepherd, Lucky. He was adopted into my family in 2000, when I was only 5. The adoption came right before he would be “put to sleep” because no one else had wanted him. As a result, my family named him Lucky because he was lucky to have escaped an eternal sleep before he could enjoy life. This dog is my eternal companion. I am responsible for providing him with sustenance, cleaning up his messes, giving him his vitamins, and bathing him. In return, he has given me affection and loyalty beyond anything else a person could muster. It helps that we horse around together and I rub his belly and scratch him behind his ears so that he can feel relaxed. I will always treasure my pet as a family member!
The handshake – A sign of formality or a mark of true character and personality? To some, a handshake can signify a successful business transaction or interaction with another professional in the workplace. Many could interpret it as a sign of understanding that one has gotten a job from a superior. But for me, it signifies true equality between the two people on either end of the handshake. The degree of respect and fellowship in the handshake can measured by its firmness, the use of eye contact, and the positioning of the body (in this case, forward). This direct contact with another person exudes mutual respect and comradeship. It is through this formality that I have sealed strong bonds with my male friends and continue to do so today.
I’m here with my good friend, Edward Aminov, valedictorian of our graduating Class of 2012 from James Madison High School. I became friends with him in junior year when we were in the same AP Calculus BC class. We bonded over our shared class, music, and girl interests. We’ve helped each other out countless times through our shared classes while also being academic rivals with another (He won in the end, though not without a little help from me!) He is one of my only friends who truly thought like a man. Because I pride myself as being very masculine, he was the ideal guy that I could bounce my thoughts off of, both academically and personally. Although we have different career aspirations, with him wanting to be a genetics engineer and I a lawyer, we still desire the best for ourselves and each other and will continue to collaborate together through all of the bad times and good times. We are truly friends forever!
The Phenom
Hello! I’m Daniel. I’m passionate about hard rock and heavy metal – Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Motörhead, etc. I’m called The Phenom because I’ve been a fan of WWE wrestler The Undertaker for years. At times, I can be very quiet and mysterious, and at other times, I’m very loquacious and comedic. I’m hesitant about going into college without any of my old high school friends, but I’m willing to make new friends over here.
