Ilan Ben-Meir
Ilan Ben-Meir
Recent Stories
Ben-Meir: Putting Elevate in perspective
Since word first broke of Friday’s raid at Elevate, the topic has dominated our campus conversation. Charges of police brutality contend with more cautious and conciliatory claims. With this in mind, we must be conscious of the implications of our conversation, and not let our reactions to the raid go to waste, or worse, go sour.
Ben-Meir: Taking on the talking heads
Over the last few weeks, it has become part of the conventional wisdom that Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives following this November’s congressional elections. Stu Rothenberg and Charlie Cook, who direct Washington’s two most trusted political forecasting outfits, have both revised their estimates of Republican gains past the threshold needed for the GOP to claim a majority in the House during the 112th Congress, and based on recent reports one would be forgiven for thinking that would-be Speaker John Boehner is measuring enough drapes to single-handedly stimulate the United States textile industry. The wise men and women of the chattering class are sure in their predictions confidently setting the terms of the national discussion bound to dominate the intervening weeks between now and November, and they may well prove to be correct. But even weathermen are wrong on occasion, and political prognostication is an infinitely less exact science than meteorology. This begs the question: What if the promised flood doesn’t come?
Ben-Meir: Replacing Justice Stevens
When John Paul Stevens announced his retirement on Friday, intense speculation began as to who President Obama would select to replace him. Would the president choose another woman, further decreasing the absurd gender imbalance of the Supreme Court? Would he opt to nominate the first Asian justice, the second Hispanic, the third African-American? Could he possibly consider an openly gay nominee? Amid the hubbub of identity politicking, however, one question did not receive the attention it deserves. Justice Stevens is the only Protestant currently serving on the Supreme Court; if Obama does not nominate one as his replacement, the Court will be without a Protestant for the first time in its history. In a nation where 76 percent of adults self-identify as Protestant, this would be a difficult proposition, if not outright wrong.
Ben-Meir: Why is this night different?
Born to Run
Tonight, instead of taking my weekly French test, I will be going to a Seder. Those who know me, even in passing, might well see a sinister causation in the prior sentence; “religious obligation” as an express ticket to a Dean’s Excuse. After all, nobody would mistake me for a particularly observant Jew. My skull goes perpetually uncapped; I don’t know enough Hebrew to follow many of the conversations in the Slifka dining hall (even those ostensibly in English); and I ate a pork chop for dinner just last night. One could easily understand my French teacher’s assumption that I was just trying to get out of a test or go a step farther and suggest that I’m not religious enough to deserve having my test rescheduled. But the patchwork nature of some collegiate religious observances does not diminish their legitimacy but instead highlights a way in which religion remains meaningful even to those for whom it is not central.
Ben-Meir: Political performances
Born to Run
This week’s presidential health care summit felt decidedly unreal. While White House officials and Congressional leaders from both parties gathered for a seven-hour discussion on President Obama’s signature domestic initiative, little of substance was said; the summit was, as so many have remarked, political theater. At first, I wondered if part of this perception was that I was watching the summit on YouTube, with the familiar controls uncannily situated beneath the faces of the country’s most powerful public figures.
Ben-Meir: Days for different stories
Although we can hardly be blamed for spending Valentine’s Day reading love letters instead of headlines, the front page of Sunday’s paper was not blank. After all, the world does not stand still each Feb. 14 while we enrich chocolatiers, knick-knack makers and teddy bear manufacturers. But what seems, at first, like an irresponsible disengagement from the broader world is in fact an important respite in our lives. Occasionally stepping out of the flow of events affords us the space necessary to write our private histories, even as the world continues to turn.
Ben-Meir: Returning to the island
Following a television show, especially one as convoluted as “Lost,” creates a particular sort of community among viewers. Each episode is a collective experience in a world increasingly defined by the fragmentation of information and experience. “Lost” provides a carefully crafted experiment in limited access to information, a sharp contrast to the saturation of data points characteristic of the postmodern era.
A musical haunting
If the new record by The Mumlers sounds somehow haunted, there’s a good reason why. The band takes its name from William Mumler, a 19th century American photographer who claimed the ability to take pictures of ghosts.
Quit smoking the electro way
It’s hard to quit smoking. Really hard. “Cutting back” never works, Nicorette is absurdly expensive, and going cold turkey can be a recipe for a nervous breakdown. So when I saw a flashing ad for something called “Blu Cigs” online, I was intrigued. I went to the Web site and discovered a device that could only be too good to be true.