Too many shows are on television right now about misfits.  From singing outcasts (Glee) to substance abusers (Skins), right now anyone would feel normal by being ostracized. Sure, I guess these shows could provide some comfort in times of need, but lately I’ve seen many students walking and talking as if they were the lead characters in one if these over-dramatic shows. In other words, the shows are the inducers of more drama.

As teenagers, we all have some sort of drama in our lives, from peer pressure to friends. What we don’t all need is more drama. Television shows such as Degrassi, which features teenage pregnancies, drug-taking and sexual relationships gone wrong, have us thirsting for more drama, and make us feel as if the only way to live is running away from the diabolical “A” or the cops (Pretty Little Liars).

I have also witnessed a spike in depression and self-harming, and now I’m talking on a wide scale, not just Shalhevet students. We all feel the pressure of looking like a Photoshop-ed celebrity, but now that the media is glorifying depression, being sad is cool. A lot of depressed feelings are being ignored because it’s now the norm, when in fact we should all probably be speaking with a guidance counselor once a month.

The really sad part is that younger kids now are being exposed, too. Right now I’m sitting next to my nine-year-old brother watching Power Rangers. This episode seems like a soap opera with teenagers running around in colorful tights. The villains are either the creepy guys with the monster mask on, or the woman wearing black lipstick who laughs too much. In real life the bad guys aren’t always this obvious. What happens if my brother sees an unattractive man walking down the street and thinks he’s a bad person, or if an old lady offers him a lollipop in return for helping her with something in her house? He gets hurt. That’s what happens. He’s getting ridiculous messages, and learning the opposite of the truth.

My solution is to avoid gossipy shows like these.  Instead, I watch shows that promote being a strong individual and protecting others. I watch shows like House, which features a grumpy old man who in the end of the day saves lives with his strange and rude techniques. I like this show because it promotes the idea that everyone has an ounce if goodness in them, rather than the popular girl is always a snob or the nerdy guy is always an amazing friend.

My new favorite show is a British mini-series called Sherlock. This show is based on the infamous Sherlock Holmes but takes place in modern-day Britain. I highly suggest watching this show and others similar to this. Good luck.

I’m tired of this whole issue. Religion shouldn’t be limited. After all, religion isn’t about who does what, because you shouldn’t be able to measure religion. Religion should be something between you and God, and I don’t understand why everybody is trying to interfere with it. Leave everybody else alone, focus only on yourself. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of girls carrying the Torah, don’t carry it if you’re a girl, and if you’re a guy, keep on trying to respectfully create another minyan. A lot of girls who are pro-carrying the Torah have been offended throughout this process, for the price of what? Other people being uncomfortable? I feel like everyone needs to calm down a bit and look at the other position before speaking.

In the sophomore-freshman minyan I’m in, practically none of the girls pray. Do I care? No. But the girls who do pray want to hold the Torah, while the girls who don’t pray — and actually interrupt the prayers by joking around and talking constantly — don’t want them to hold the Torah. Personally, this drives me crazy. If you aren’t praying in the first place and don’t even care enough to be silent and respectful during the prayer, then why do you care about who’s holding the Torah? It’s as if the girls finally tune in to the prayer for the only controversial part.

For now, I guess I’m going to have to endure more and more nonsense about this topic. I for one, am not religious at all. I am most of the time quiet during prayer, and want girls to carry the Torah, because to me it’s crazy to limit religion. I hope that this blog post gives you a new outlook, or some reassurance that you’re not the only one who thinks like this, but by all means, this post is not meant to offend anyone. I’m sorry if it did.

Let’s just state the obvious facts– in case those of you aren’t up to date.

1. Gilad Shalit was captured on 25 June 2006. We aren’t even sure if he’s still alive.

2. Shalit has a family, who misses him terribly and will do anything to get him back.

3. A strong sense of nationalism has swept over Israel over the years following his capture. Many people want him back, and feel bad for him because he was out, serving his country, while he was captured.

4. The result of his release could possibly end with thousands murdered by these terrorists.

Now to the big picture: is it fair? Is it fair that if we don’t agree to this deal, that Shalit will have to remain and possibly be tortured for months to come? On the other hand, is it fair of Shalit’s family and supporters to ask for him, while his release could result in mass terror?And finally, how did we come to a world where a man has to bargain for his life and freedom? Isn’t that kind of crazy?

“Here we see the basic dilemmas between the individual and the collective, and we see victim pitted against victim. Gilad Shalit is a victim who was violently kidnapped, in a way that Israelis do not consider to be a normative means of struggle. Therefore, one side says, he should be returned at any price. But the families of those killed in terrorist attacks and the people who were wounded in those attacks are victims, too, and they say that no price should be paid to the murderers. And it is truly a dilemma, because no side is right, and no side is wrong.” said Daniel Bar-Tal, a professor of political psychology in Tel-Aviv.

How do we save Shalit? How do we make it so “victim pitted against victim” never happens again? Do we break off from society, and make a new one, so this never happens again? Do we mold our newfound society into a fair utopia, where everyone’s happy? Does this seem like too much of a cop out?

I don’t have the answers, and unfortunately, no one will, until the end of time. We can still all guess and try to achieve the answers, as long as we put our minds to it. Speaking about minds– what do you think about it?

Below is an ”It Gets Better” video, which that same boy posted to tell other gay teens that life gets better, so they shouldn’t commit suicide. “It Gets Better” is an anti-suicide organization for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay,Bi-Sexual, and Transgender) teens. The 14-year-old was proud to be part of it.
But this video is quite ironic. He says to hang in there, and then a few months later he himself committed suicide. Imagine how horrible the bullying must have been for you to be pushed to the thing which you are strongly against. If you look in the comments section under his videos, you’ll read disgusting hate letters from people saying what an abomination he is, and how disgusting he is– some even call him obscene names. It’s people like these that caused a young boy, 14 years old, to pull the trigger and end his own life. What a waste of what would have been a perfectly normal life. He would have graduated from high school and gone to college, where people are more mature and can see past their fears and differences and accept those who weren’t accepted at a younger age. He would have moved on to find a boyfriend, and he would have been happy in a committed relationship, and he might have even been able to adopt a child.

It’s hate that ruins this world. If we all learned to be more tolerant the world would be a better place and teenagers wouldn’t be bullied to death by insecure homophobic people — if you can even call them people. People have hearts, and I’m not sure the bullies on his webpage do.

This death is such a shame on all of society’s reputation. How will we be able to go on from this and improve our world when we have heartless bullies tormenting people when all they wanted to do was love? Let me leave you all with a video of this victim, one where he is happy, dancing with his many friends. This video shows how he was still a kid, and deserved to be able to behave like a kid– not having to be worried about being insulted and ridiculed throughout his daily life. He is not the first to have committed suicide for this reason. Hopefully he is the last.

Just another awesome street art scene painted by my favorite street artist, Banksy.

This is one of the most inspiring videos I’ve ever watched. A young motorcyclist gets trapped under a burning car, when witnesses intervene to save him. Despite the fact that there’s fire and that they might get hurt, they all put aside their concerns and help push the car. As a young women then looks underneath the car and points out he’s still breathing, more people rush to his aid and eventually the drag him out from underneath. He is in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and is recovering– with minor injuries compared to what he would have had if they ignored the situation. He might have died, and for one outstanding moment, people got together and saved his life. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched more and more people rush to the scene to help. Turns out that the world isn’t so bad.

Good Night,
Eden

MODEL CONGRESS TRYOUTS TOMORROW AND THURSDAY IN MR. BUCKLEY’S ROOM!!!