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June 19, 2013

Peter Grier and Harry Bruinius: In the end, NSA might not need to snoop so secretly after all

Howard LaFranchi: Taliban peace talks hold glimmer of hope, but also unanswerable questions

Warren Richey: Supreme Court: For right to remain silent, a suspect must speak
Meredith Cohn: Leeches are making a comeback as medical helpers

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to pick the healthiest breakfast cereal

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: Spicy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

June 17, 2013

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein: Black to the Future: American Apparel Gets Biblical

Patrik Jonsson: Minnesota Nazi: How did Nazi hunters miss Michael Karkoc?

Kate Irby, Ali Watkins, Trevor Graff and Kevin Thibodeaux: All the ways you're being watched
Don Lee: G-8 meeting will test NSA leaks' effect on U.S. influence

Patrik Jonsson: Fort Hood shooting: Judge nixes Nidal Hasan defense strategy. What now?

Stacey Burling: Why the stigma for migraine sufferers?

The Kosher Gourmet by Lisa Abraham: Does it work? 5 new kitchen gadgets put to the test

June 14, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget: Religious economics and being a ruler

John P. Martin: Hitler insider's missing diary found

Matt Pearce: NSA surveillance disclosure could affect court cases
Peter Tinti: US bounties changes strategy on (Wild, Wild) West African jihadis

Daniel Pendrick, M.D.: Memory loss? Old age may be the least of it

Lauren F. Friedman: But it's all natural! Should we have an instinctive preference for herbal remedies?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Streisand and Alicia Keys in Israel; "Girls" Stuff; Mel Brooks, Another TV special; Superman (who is Jewish) returns --- Israeli plays his mom

The Kosher Gourmet by Sharon K. Ghag : Bored with salad? Bling it up a bit (4 effortless recipes that will result in a 'WOW!')

June 12, 2013

Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect

Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: What's so special about Omega-3 supplements?
Morgan Housel: What newspapers were saying when you should have been buying

Pete Spotts: How cockroaches evolved so as to bypass 'roach motels'

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: Deep-dish cookie: Warm, gooey and a little over the top

June 10, 2013

Joseph A. Slobodzian: Faith healing and third degree murder: Thorny legal case
Lindsay Wise: Few options for online users to avoid spying, experts say

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: There are plenty of nutritional food bargains out there
Harvard Health Letters: Can bariatric surgery control diabetes?

Zach Murdock: Superglue helps doctors save infant's life

The Kosher Gourmet by Celebrated chef Mario Batali : As good as grilling gets: Rib eye with dry mushroom spice rub

June 7, 2013

Rabbi David Aaron: Beating jealousy

Caroline B. Glick: Wounded . . . and dangerous

Clifford D. May: Al Qaeda vs. Hezbollah
Harvard Health Letters: Fighting back against allergy season

Kimberly Lankford: Grandparents who use FSA to cover grandkid's braces and other must-know info

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom:J ewish Tony Nominees/Tony Awards; Jewish Teen Actor In Sci-Fi Flick; Jewish singer in "Voice" finals

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust

June 5, 2013

John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less

Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Mushrooms Have Medicinal As Well As Culinary Value
Morgan Housel: Why you never learn from your investment mistakes

Don Lee: In China, kindergarten rivalry takes deadly turn

The Kosher Gourmet by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan: 30-Minute Coq au Vin isn't a dream

June 3, 2013

Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself

Richard A. Serrano: Pvt. Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks trial also a test for government

Mark Trumbull: Have degree, driving cab: Nearly half of college grads are overqualified
Kim Lankford: What to do when long-term care insurance premiums rise

Deborah Netburn: Study: Adults' mouth bacteria may help babies

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Contestant on 'The Voice'; Will Smith's 'Jewish movie family'; Bravo Gives Long Island Jews the Jersey Shore Treatment; Magicians and More

The Kosher Gourmet by Bill Ward: How to be as refined as the wines at a wine tasting

May 29, 2013

Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die

Dennis Prager: The 'Muslims-Killed-by-the-West' Lie

David Clark Scott: Open war on teachers?
Morgan Housel: If you know only five things about investing, make it these

Sara Reardon: AGenome detectives change the donation game

Deborah Netburn: A one-way ticket to Mars? 78,000-plus and counting apply by video

The Kosher Gourmet by Bev Bennett: CHEDDAR AND CHERRY MUFFINS --- your mouth is already watering

May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting


Jewish World Review March 24, 2006 / 24 Adar, 5766

The Dude Culture

By Marianne M. Jennings

Marianne M. Jennings
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The cover of Sports Illustrated featured a mid-air snowboarder, locks a-flyin', in a tip of the helmet to androgyny. The caption? "American Men and Women Rule the Halfpipe." Dude! Shaun White and Hannah Teeter, the male and female snowboarder Olympic Gold Medalists, have found second careers following their stint as the Hanson musical group. Ten bucks and Janet Jones Gretzky's sports book acumen say the snow skateboarders can't add the judges' scores without a calculator (them's three digits with decimals) or name the century during which the Revolutionary War was fought, but they have bested the world on freefalling.


I adjusted to the drooping pants, the Slinky string bracelets, and the Prince-Valiant-with-curls-hairstyles that wandered amongst us because historical and generational precedent assured: This too shall pass. But, nay, the skateboards, Bill and Ted, and the iPodded ears hover still. They have left their imprimatur. We have become the Dude Culture.


Time magazine has twice run multi-page spreads on dude geniuses. Somehow I cannot equate Time's wunderkind, who begins his insight, "I know a guy . . . ," with Socrates (that's Sew-crates, two syllables, in dudese). A recent Time exposé featured the top four thinkers in the country. Mark Cuban, thinker/owner of the Dallas Mavericks and co-founder of Broadcast.com and HDNet was one of them and weighed in, "In the past, you had to memorize knowledge because there was a cost to finding it. Now, what can't you find in 30 seconds or less? We live an open-book-test life that requires a completely different skill set." Dudes worry me because they don't know what came before them or even that we survived without them! Yes, anyone can look up "Mephistopheles" on the Internet in 30 seconds, but it might take cracking a book or two to understand Faustus. Another ten bucks says they don't know either one and are hoping Google's "Did you mean _______?" will correct their spelling when they plug them in for a search.


Mr. Cuban is right about one thing. The Dude Culture is the 30-second culture - their attention span is the length of an MTV video camera shot. This attention span deficit disorder (ASDA) has pummeled their work ethic. My children's pediatricians bemoaned the process of taking on new docs for their expanding 15-year-plus-practice, "They don't want to pay their dues. They want the flex hours, the short hours, the no-on-call-weekends, and they want it all with partnership status and all within the first year." Chill, Dr. Dudes!


The e-mail exchange of Dianna Abdala with lawyer Will Korman on his job offer is now legendary. Following two interviews, his ordering her stationery, and her agreeing on a start date, she sent him an e-mail. To her, his job offer "would neither fulfill me nor support the lifestyle I am living." At age 24, while in school, she has a lifestyle? When Mr. Korman called the dudette "immature and unprofessional," she shot back, hurling infinite wisdom at him, "A real lawyer would have put the contract in writing and not exercised any such reliance until he did so." He then asked, "Do you really want to start [annoying] more experienced lawyers at this early stage of your career?" The half-piped half-wit shot back, "bla, bla, bla." A quick Internet dictionary search would have yielded, "Did you mean 'blah?'" When a Wall Street Journal Reporter asked Ms. Abdala whether she was worried about her bad rep in the legal community she said, "I'm more worried about whether I left my hair iron on than this little email exchange." Dude, life is too short and hair too important for deference.


Swishing through the Internet faster than speeding bullets has emboldened the dudes around their elders. Students who have not yet met me drop me e-mails that begin, "Marianne." I count my blessings. First-name beats "Whassup?"


Perhaps, though, they cannot spell "Jennings." The dudes in the service industry choose "G" as the beginning letter for my name. Most drop the second "g." Therefore, my dude name, to which I now respond quite readily, is "Gennins." I fear that if they plugged William Jennings Bryan or even Peter Jennings into Google they would get, "Did you mean William Gennins Bryan?"


Once I navigate past these casual greetings from my new best friends, the content proves worse. I have e-mails that detail everything from stomach flu and temperatures to confessions of smoking half-pipes (or so) over the weekend. One student detailed the timing intervals for her IBS. Propriety goes with dudes as oil goes with water. Blend in their intense self-focus and, well, they blog away at you. Cursed high school teachers! You who insisted on molding journal-writing narcissists. Their journals are Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and/or Wilson brothers movie - the central plot involves bodily functions and impairment.


Dudes want executive status and perks, but they're not quite ready to stop binge drinking. They want deals and contracts, but don't want the boredom of customer service. They want gold medals, but not with the structure and rigor of figure skating or the team work of hockey. They want credibility, but their sweater sleeves hang down over their hands. They assure us that they are professionals, but the spider web tattoos on their elbows belie that. They want face-to-face contact but their piercings are blinding. I worry that they will be sucked in when they walk by MRI departments.


But I worry more that they have been sucked into a "The world has changed" mentality that finds them believing that knowledge, spelling, graciousness, and hard work no longer matter. Temporarily, it seems, they are right. The dude culture is in full swing, and they have swooshed their way to the Olympics, medals, fame, and fortune. Google is king of the business world. For now. But the dude culture is a disorderly one with few rules, no judgments, and a laid-back notion that all will be well. History does teach us differently. Plug "Roman Empire, Fall" into Google and read up, for at least 30 seconds.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Marianne M. Jennings is a professor of legal and ethical studies at Arizona State University. Send your comments by clicking here.

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© 2006, Marianne M. Jennings

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