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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
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The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
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The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
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May 22, 2012
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Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
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The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
March 11, 2011
/ 5 Adar II, 5771
Uncommon Culture
By
Greg Crosby
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Seems the older I get the more I am aware of our increasingly fragmented culture. Once upon a time everyone you spoke with knew the latest hit song, watched the same television shows and movies, and had the same frame of references. Now we have become so divided as a people that we don't even honor the same G0d anymore (if we honor a G0d at all). We used to all agree on what constituted good values, what was right and wrong. We all understood that The Ten Commandments was the bulwark of decency in our society. We can't even agree on that anymore.
Our country's motto, e pluribus unum (from many, to one) has been turned on its head thanks to multiculturalism. We are no longer one united people; we are many groups of people who just happen to be living in the same place. It used to be desirable and honorable for an immigrant coming to America to assimilate into society, today it is considered insensitive to expect someone coming from another country to meld into our culture. No longer a melting pot, we have become an international food court.
Along with multiculturalism, the idea of egalitarianism is routinely taught in our public schools today. That is the idea that America is no better than any other country in the world. All cultures are equally wonderful. When President Obama was asked if he believes in American exceptionalism he said yes, but he was sure that the British and the Belgians also believed in their countries' exceptionalism. He didn't want to come right out and say that America was the best. Why not? I don't know about you, but I want my president to be a strong champion of American ideals and values. Unapologetically patriotic.
Abraham Lincoln had a strong faith in America; in his second message to Congress he coined the phrase, "the last best hope of earth." President Reagan quoted that line many times when speaking of our country. President Kennedy said Americans were "the watchmen on the walls of freedom." He echoed President George Washington, who thought the American people had been given the unique opportunity to tend "the sacred fire of liberty."
The proliferation of multicultural and egalitarian thought in our society is not the only reason we are experiencing a fragmented culture. The famous term, "generation gap" first heard in the 1960's, is growing wider all the time. People in their early twenties have less in common with people in their early forties and fifties than they had in generations past. We literally speak a different language. The explosion of new electronic technology is part of it, but so is fashion.
It is my contention that fashion has contributed to the break down of the common culture as much or maybe more than any other single factor. It may be difficult for us to grasp what life was like before fashion began, but there was a time when fashion was not as important as it is now. Today's young people have new things exposed to them on an ongoing basis, cultural changes happen practically every week, or so it seems.
With each succeeding generation a new culture comes about to make the old one obsolete and old-fashioned. It wasn't always this way. There once was a time that young people actually dressed the same way that older people did, they listened to the same music, they spoke using the same words and phrases, and they had the same virtues. Young and old alike valued the same things. But you'd have to go back more than 100 years, well before the industrial revolution, to live in a time totally devoid of fashion in everyday life.
Everything is subject to fashion now, everything. Beyond clothing, hairstyles, and other aspects of personal grooming, automobiles, electronic gadgets, music, movies, food, even speech, are all driven by fashion trends. It goes back to the cockeyed idea that change is always better. It doesn't matter what the change is, as long as it is different from what was. I never went along with this thinking. To me a change must be for the better, or else I'll keep what I have, thank you.
This is why I listen to classical music. This is why I dress in well tailored clothes when going out. This is why I watch old movies. The new stuff, the fashionable stuff just isn't any better. Matter of fact, its worse. But this is what is happening with lots of people in our culture, they are finding their own things, because there is no more common threads among us as there once were.
I don't know how a country can exist without a common culture to hold it together. We are what we are because of the people who founded this nation. Those people had a common link, something that does not exist here anymore. One thing is for sure, what made America what it was is disappearing fast. America is changing. Will the change will be for the better? From what I've seen so far, my guess is not at all. Not even close.
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JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.
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