Sanitarium

“Culture clash is terrific drama.” Ken Follett is a renowned British author; many of his books have ideas of culture clash present. But the clashes of cultures bring more than just drama; they allow us to compare different lifestyles and open our minds to growth. This clash does not have to be strictly between two totally different cultures. There can just as easily be a clash between the generations; sometimes referred to as “Old School vs. New School”. The schools mentioned here are referring to the evolutions in thought processes and lifestyles of one generation to the next. Though people still migrate to different lands, they seem more open to accepting and understanding and adopting the culture of where they are; as well as bringing their own knowledge, beliefs, and values. But the bigger concern in culture clash at this point in time seems to be more of the generational collide: between mother and daughter, grandfather and grandson, etc.
To provide a personal experience with foreign culture, there is no need to think of a time where I was in an unfamiliar land; the land beyond the front gates of The Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring can, at times, be just as foreign. In the grand halls of the mosque the speakers vibrate with the words of God, yet ten feet away the joyous voices of children laughing and playing warm the heart. But what happens when the prayer is over? All the old ‘uncles’ and ‘aunties’ run out and begin to yell, scream in rough, arrogant, unloving voices. The sounds that were of once joy and delight, are now transformed into cries of pain and distress. Why? With such bliss are the words of God recited; but does God not enjoy the laughter of the children that He so dearly created? Then why do those same lovers of God deafen the giggles of the children?
The youth of those ‘uncles’ and ‘aunties’ were in many ways different than those of our own. They were taught that the mosque is a place for worship and nothing more; they were forced to spend hours there just reading and praying, nothing else was allowed. Now they wish to impress those same ideas upon the youth of today; when in fact the mosque is actually supposed to be a place of community and togetherness. The activities are not what make the togetherness, actually being there does. The youth now want to go to the mosque to ‘chill’ with their homies. Whether they are praying, playing football, or just sitting around eating; the point is that the youth are at the mosque. The elders of the community seem to miss that fact and only scrutinize them. Though all the people, the elders and the youth, may be from the same country/region, with similar cultural identities, the ways that their minds have adapted to the forever evolving culture is quite different.
Of course, “proper” mosque behavior is not the only difference in the Old School vs. New School battle. Even small things whose roots are one-hundred percent cultural are thought of in totally different manners by the youth of the 1950s and the youth of today. Back in India where my grandfather grew up, body language was a HUGE deal. Placement of hands, feet, the arc in their backs, etc. all had certain implications. Now a days I can speak to my teacher with my hands in my pocket, no problem, but 60 years ago in India my grandfather could not talk to his own father with his hands in his pocket. I realize that 60 years ago in India is going to be very different than now in America; but the point is that those who did grow up 60 years ago in India and have migrated to America, still believe that those little things have the same meaning today, in a totally different world as they did 60 years ago in a third world country.
Even though many of the Old School beliefs may be outdated by today’s standards, there is much that can be learned from it. After all, it is the basis for our own culture. Every new culture is a step on the previous one; culture is a forever adapting creature that continues to change and develop until new generations stop coming. One of the most amazing things about this ongoing adaption process is that there is no set time interval for it to follow; looking back after graduating high school, members of my graduating class looked with disgust at the behavior of some of the younger classes; we wondered how they could ever think that their actions are acceptable? Cultural adapts to our lifestyle, yet our lifestyle stems from the culture we live in; it is a never ending cycle of adaption.
Many times, cultural change can be so drastic that at times, it is hard to know what is appropriate. This is where many people make mistakes that may offend someone of a different culture or an older generation. When I was about 11 years old, I visited the country where my parents were born, Pakistan. Their daily life was very much different than what I was used to living here in the United States. When we would go and visit the houses of our relatives, they always offered us snacks, if not an entire meal. What I was unaware of was the fact that no matter how much I had already eaten that day, never was I to refuse their kindness. If someone comes to visit their house and leaves without eating, they seem to take it as a personal insult. I was so used to just saying “Nah, I’m not hungry. But thanks.” In Pakistan, that is not how it works. Another example is that of shopping. In most other countries around the world, the consumer bargains with the seller when buying a product. Usually the seller starts out with a high price and slowly, it is negotiated down to a much more reasonable price. This I learned the hard way; I got ripped off time and time again, before I finally noticed what other shoppers were doing. Subtle lifestyle changes amount for a lot when we are out of our own comfort zones.
With the above given examples, it would be a fair statement to say that the cultural challenges that Mortenson faces are quite different. Unlike me, Mortenson was going diving into a culture he had virtually no knowledge about; his own culture differed in great detail. In my case it was simple mistakes that I did not realize I was making. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mortenson dealt with several challenges that he did not expect. When he first began his mission of building schools for the young children, he went in with the mindset of how helpful he was going to be and what a great thing it would be for the village. I am in no way saying that his thoughts were selfish, but let’s face it, when we do good things for other people it does make us feel better. And usually, not always, the person who is financing the project and is in charge believes that the way they are doing it is the correct way to do it; but what Mortenson did not realize was that as great of an effort as this undertaking was, the village had its own ideas of how they wanted it done. This was one of the difficulties Mortenson had to go through; adjusting his plans to suit the needs of those he is attempting to assist. Of all the things he had to deal with while in Southeast Asia, I feel like his biggest battle was during his captivity with the terrorists. Even though being captured by terrorists doesn’t count as a real “foreign culture experience”, but the fact that it was in a foreign land and the terrorists were of a different cultural background, the imprisonment had implications of what values are held in high regard in that culture. Overall, I feel like his entire trip was a huge lesson in diversity; filled with difficulties and challenges, yet in the end resulting in an open mind and an open heart.
I enjoyed reading about the great humanitarian undertaking of this generous man. He came across the village on a hike up Mt. K2; he had lost his way and the villagers had helped him and nursed him back to health. His efforts to educate the children of the village were in turn his show of gratitude to the people of the village. Mortenson is a good man and I am glad that he decided to publish this book; it is a good resource for others that wish to aid in the betterment of mankind. I personally believe that all people, especially those who are physically and financially stable, have a responsibility to do their best to help those who cannot help themselves. Mortenson has supplied the world with a great example of gratitude and generosity; and it deserves to be repeated.
Good luck to Mr. Mortenson on any of his future endevours.

“When it is not in our power to determine what it true, we ought to follow what is most probable” Rene Descartes was a philosopher who in his old age began to rethink his take on the world and re-examine all of his beliefs. His famous words: “I think therefore I am.” tell us that we can know nothing with absolute certainty, except that we are here and we can think. I feel that his conclusion, at a basic level, is true. Generally, men see a total of maybe 10 colors, whereas women see like 10000(etc); staring at the same wall I see white, yet my sweetie sees eggshell white…what the hell is the difference? <--I see no difference, but my sweetie can give me a full explanation of the difference. So at this point I have no idea whether it’s white or eggshell white, but I can think about it, and I’m still standing here…”I think, therefore I am.”
Seeing the world as it “actually is” has no real meaning. Each person knows the world through his/her senses; therefore the qualities of different things in the world are known only to the individual who experiences them. Music is a prime example to help explain this. The song Bring the Noise by Anthrax & Public Enemy does in fact start off with just large amounts of noise coming from guitars, drums, and bass. But to those that enjoy this genre of music, they can tell right away what the beat of the song is. Whereas, those who seem to prefer softer, more soothing sounds react as if they hear nothing but loud, obnoxious noises. So, is Bring the Noise actually a song or is it just obnoxious noise?
After seeing that people experience the same thing in different ways, questions such as “What is the correct perception? Are there right and wrong ways to experience something? How do we know which one is right and which one is not? What criteria do we use to determine the validity of someone’s perception?” arise. I believe that there is a physical world, but the way it is viewed is left up to us. There cannot be a correct or incorrect way of perceiving the world, simply because the criteria would not be agreed upon; the same questions would be asked of each criterion. This would lead to a cycle of questions, yet none of them receiving answers. And as we know, circular reasoning is a logical fallacy; therefore, even attempting to think of a “correct” perception of the world is ludicrous.
The reality of the world is experienced individually by every person. Reality can be defined as events or occurrences that take place while a person is conscious or awake. Therefore reality is unique to each individual that experiences it. For example, if a person is asleep during a blackout and wakes up only after the blackout is over, that person did not actually experience the blackout; therefore the blackout never occurred (to that person). No matter how much the blackout is described to him, he will never experience it.
At the same time, no person experiences the world exactly the same as another person. The terrorist attacks on September 11th were experienced drastically different by those who were in the Twin Towers than those that were watching the videos played repeatedly on CNN. The feelings and emotions of those watching on television were of shock and distress, whereas those fleeing from the buildings were in a state of legitimate fear and panic. The people that were running from the burning buildings saw only fire and dust and crumbling metal around them; their world had become blackened. But those of us watching in horror only saw images of the fire and dust and crumbling metal, but around us everything else looked normal and pretty. Taking it a step further, the event itself, the attack, was seen and experienced with totally opposite feelings and emotions by those responsible. While we at home are watching in dismay, the terrorist were rejoicing and celebrating. In about 500 years when no one that was living to experience 9/11 is alive, how will it be remembered? Will the people of Afghanistan teach it as an act of heroism by their people or as an act of horrible violence against the innocent people? But the people 500 years from now will never truly know if the events of September 11th, 2001 took place; the same way we cannot be certain that events that we learn about took place (examples to follow). Though I was not in NYC on September 11th, 2001 at 9am to experience the event, I can say with almost certainty that some sort of destructive event took place. This is because when I went to NYC in 1998 I saw two giant towers; I went back in 2007 and in the same place, I saw nothing but a giant pit of dirt and scraps of what used to be there. I’m quite positive that no one can go to Ground Zero and still see The Twin Towers (unless they have those cool glasses with pictures in the lenses). But since pretty much the entire world has agreed that some people decided to fly airplanes into building, it will be taught as an event that took place. “History is a set of lies agreed upon.” (Napoleon Bonaparte) I am in no way saying that the events of 9/11 did not take place, but what I think Napoleon was trying to say is that: the things we are taught as history have been discussed and negotiated to make all the historians happy…how can negotiated stories be fact? Truth in history is rare. So now that we know it’s going to be taught, the question is how? That will depend on who writes the history books, because as Winston Churchill put it: “History is written by the victor.” Which is quite true; the winner gets to say whatever he wants. Therefore the only thing that we are able to know with any amount of certainty is that some event did take place; the details of the event are left up to the victors. A perfect example is the 3rd Crusade; after ridiculous amounts of research (for a paper) I still have no idea who won that battle. The Christians of Europe say that King Richard the Lionheart valiantly led the Crusaders to victory, whereas the Muslims of the Middle East are certain that Salah-ad Din Ayyub nobly re-took the Holy Land from the hands of the unworthy Crusaders. If historians have to argue and come to a conclusion about what happened, how truly reliable is that opinion? So what actually happened? Uh, people fought over The Holy Land. There is no answer to who won; the Europeans have their correct answer, and the Arabs have theirs. I guess the only real way we can find the right answer is: invent a time machine and go watch them fight. But even then, if a Syrian and a European watch the same events at the same time, I’m pretty sure that they would still disagree with each other. With that being said, there is no way to know who won. Isn’t history just wonderful?! Though the last several examples were on a much larger scale than that which the question is asking, I feel like they relay a similar point. In all of these examples, those involved physically witnessed the same event, but experienced it in totally different ways.
The way a person experiences the world is not based on what is physically seen or heard (smelled, tasted, felt), our physical experiences of the senses are not how we actually perceive the world to be. Because the physical sensation lasts for such a short amount of time, we cannot actually describe what is physically felt. We only know the world through what our secondary senses perceive them to be. And since no two people’s brains are wired exactly the same, there is no way that two people can see and experience an object, an event, or a situation with exactly the same characteristics and/or feelings (respectively).
Do you think that you are, right now, experiencing the world as it actually is? Do you believe that the way things appear to you is, in fact, the way they are in reality? Yes, I am experiencing the world as it actually is, to me. The only reality I can see is my own, so the way I see them is the only way they can be.

“Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.” Master Yoda is considered by many to be one of the greatest Jedi that ever lived. Though he was not the most powerful, he was wise through his vast knowledge of The Force. For thousands of years, the Jedi were the keepers of peace and order in the galaxy. Their power came from one all powerful Force. They live by 4 simple statements: “There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no death, there is the Force.” Seeing that Star Wars was so big, there had to be something that set it apart from every other Science Fiction movie/story; it was The Force, there was something about it…
Growing up in a Muslim household, everything was the work of the All-Powerful God. In Star Wars, I learned that everything was the work of the All-Powerful Force; I was at a cross-road. I was young, so whatever my parents taught me seemed to make sense, but The Force looked so much cooler! I wanted to able to lift the X-Wing from the swamps of Degoba just by lifting my hand. Obviously my parents, as most did, told me it was just made up and that I need to focus on reality. My parents made the common mistake of taking The Force as just what George Lucas decided to show us in the movies, when in fact, there is so much more.
I did not care what my parents thought; I was going to be a Jedi! So I hopped onto the computer and Googled “The Force”. And just as I expected, The Force was not imaginary (only the weak and feeble minded refuse to believe in it). The concept of The Force is that it is an all-powerful ‘thing’ that controls everything in the world. “It’s [The Force] an energy shield created by all living things; it surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.” (Obi Wan Kenobi; Espisode IV) The Force has many aspects to look at: there is the light side, the dark side, and The Living Force (described above). The light and dark sides refer to the moral compass and various manifestations of The Force. The light side deals with compassion, healing and benevolence, whereas the dark side is the facet aligned with hatred, fear, aggression, and malevolence. These are all traits that mankind deals with on a regular basis; the light and dark sides are our good side and our evil side. The side that a person chooses is not what decides which powers he gets; The Force exists inside the life forms that use it and draws energy from their emotions. Look mom, The Force is not just made up, it is real!
All this searching and reading led me to look into my own religion. In Islam, it is believed that God is all-powerful and He is the ruler of the Heavens and the Earth. God is inside of us all; the three Abrahamic faiths believe that God created man in His image. But it does not just stop at God; it is believed that God gave us emotion and free will, with which we can do as we wish. The actions that a man does feeds off his emotion, just like The Force; the ability to use The Force for different deeds feeds off the emotion of the user. The Force is God, The Force is you, The Force is me, The Force is all around us whether we choose to believe in it or not.
As a child, as most younglings do, I “believed” what my parents told me to believe. Unfortunately many people grow up in this manner: never bothering to actually seek the truth themselves. After years of being told something, children believe it because that is all they know. Several hundred years ago, the Catholic Church burned the books and destroyed the knowledge of the Greeks (much of modern knowledge stems back to the Greeks), in hopes that only religious texts would remain and the people would have no choice but to believe. Their minds were closed and unwilling to let knowledge in. People need to search within themselves for the answers: “In your head is the answer, let it guide you along. Let your heart be the anchor and the beat of your own song.” (Rush-Something for Nothing) I am not saying that it is not okay to believe what we have been taught or that society only preaches lies; my point is that it is only okay if we believe it through our own understanding. All of our beliefs should come from a personal experience or a full understanding of the concept; otherwise it is merely a statement, not a belief.

The term “record breaking” usually has a good connotation; not this time. The devastation (this choice of diction will make sense by the end of the paper) done by our record breaking snowfall by far outweighed the benefit. Although I enjoyed the extra week of break; my weekend, my favorite weekend of the year, was ruined. Super Bowl weekend is my Christmas, by the end of the Lamardi trophy presentation I am already looking forward to next year’s Super Bowl. I remember past Super Bowls far more vividly than my own birthdays. With that being said, three feet of snow did a wonderful job of giving me a Super Sunday to remember; just not in a good way. Every year for as long as I can remember, I have spent Super Sunday with my uncle (who is responsible for getting me into football). The two of us sit and analyze the plays, talk about what we would do in certain situations; we totally engross ourselves into the game. This year, that did not happen; I was devastated. For several hours leading up to the game, my cousin and I spent hours upon hours shoveling the driveway and cleaning the cars. We tried several times to move some of the cars so we could try and drive over to my uncle’s house. We were unsuccessful.
Unable to leave our house and attend our annual Super Bowl party, my cousin and I were left to watch the big game alone. We had to hunt around our house for any food that we could put out to make it seem like a party. We began watching the game; as usual we got really into it. After the first quarter, someone in our neighborhood had the bright idea of ordering a pizza. To make matters worse, the restaurant sent out a lady in a small Ford Focus sedan. With mountains of snow, one would think they would be smarter than that; unfortunately not. At the very end of the first quarter, the delivery lady proceeded to get her car stuck right in front of our driveway. As good people, we felt obliged to go out and assist her in getting her car out. We then spent the next 45+ minutes helping her (along with other neighbors that came out); in the process missing the entire second quarter of the Super Bowl. That was enough to spoil my day. I had missed a significant portion of the game that had spent the previous 52 weeks looking forward to. Luckily we did make it back just in time to see The Who perform; as I am also a fan of Rock N’ Roll. My personal feeling of obligation did not allow me to sit idly by as another person was trapped under brutal conditions in the dead of the night.
Though the gratification of the delivery lady did give my heart more satisfaction than that of just sitting for 4 hours and watching a game; I still felt like the joy of my Super Bowl weekend was torn away from me because Mother Nature thought it would be funny. This record breaking snowfall that we received, in no way brought the awesomeness of breaking a record. The damage outweighed the benefit; and therefore served no purpose.

The beginning starts with a soft slow guitar melody, and gradually brings in a bass. The song Something for Nothing by the rock band Rush made a lasting impression on me after the first time I experienced its mind-stimulating instrumental orchestration. As the lyrics begin to get more spirited, the music picks up, brings in an amazing drum routine and works itself into perfection. The drum routine throughout the song, as in all other Rush music, is not a just a beat or drowned in the background, but a work of genius in itself. But more than the music, I think that Neil Peart’s (also the drummer) lyrics are what really pulled me in. The chorus really taps into that part of a person’s mind that tells them they need to work to move forward, because after all, “You don’t get something for nothing.”
As a band, Rush seems to always have a message to their poetry—songs. When I first began to really listen to music, I started off with bands like Godsmack and Metallica; they had messages, but it was always in a manner in which it drew the person more to the thunderous melodies behind the lyrics. Rush on the other hand, makes sure their vocals are heard, as well as their beautifully assembled compositions, as they did with Something for Nothing. Though its message seems so cliché, in that kids hear it from their parents and teachers constantly, but its manner of presentation is what really attracted its audience.
The song is all but 4:00 minutes long, but the lyrics keep ringing in your head. Especially the last verse, where the music slows down with a faint guitar melody and the sound of the drums and you hear Geddy Lee reminding you that this life is your own, and you will only get out of it what you are willing to put into it. The 4th line of the last verse: “What you live is your own story” really hits a person in a way that says, “You’ve been given this life, do something with it.” And the final 4 lines of the verse tell you how to make it your story: “In your head is the answer, let it guide you alone. Let your heart be the anchor, and the beat of your own song.” It tells you to follow your heart to great things, and let it’s beat live your story.
Although the end may be the most invigorating part of this masterpiece, the intro is no outlier. Lee starts off describing how so many people just sit and “Countless ways, [you] pass the days.” He goes on to say that many of us just sit and wait for “someone to call” and that we look for “an open door” rather than working and opening a door for ourselves. This is when the music picks up a bit and really draws the listener: in “You don’t get something for nothing. You wont get freedom for free. You wont get wise, with the sleep still in your eyes, no matter what your dream might be.” The listeners immediately begin to reflect on their own life to see if they are one of those who is sitting “waiting for the winds of change” or one who lives their own story.
Looking at my life thus far, I feel that my life is not a soulless canvas, but certainly no masterpiece. I consider myself to have both types of traits illustrated through these words. I unfortunately find myself doing something, but not enough to live my own story. I hope that as I grow older, I will open my own doors, make my own winds of change and create my own glory—and be able to call it my own story.