How Conflicting World Views Lead to Different Societies

The values we hold dear shape the society in which we live. A world view that places a high value on the size and color of sea shells will, most likely, produce a society awash with folks wearing elaborate displays of deceased crustaceans, the bigger and flashier, the better. A world view that recognizes and honors its elders will, most likely, produce a society in which the knowledge and life experiences of seniors are considered of paramount importance. A world view that places a high value on the arts of war will, most likely, produce a militaristic society bent on conquest.

As we go about our busy lives, we don’t pause to think about such things. Maybe we should. Here are glimpses of two societies that hold very different world views coupled with examples of the differing behaviors that result.

Israeli Researchers Develop Early Warning System for Concussions

In a direct response to the growing concern over head injuries in American football, Israeli researchers have developed a new MRI diagnostic approach to identify and assess mild brain injuries that otherwise would go unreported and untreated.

From Israel21C

A blow to the brain does not have to be hard to have serious consequences for any players of contact sports such as American football and hockey, but until now there wasn’t a diagnostic capability to assess these injuries immediately after the trauma.

Dr. Alon Friedman and his team at the Brain Imaging Research Center at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev hope to change that.

Researchers at BGU and its affiliated Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheva showed, for the first time, how they were able to identify significant damage to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) of football players following “unreported” trauma or mild concussions. The method uses dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) to detect and localize vascular pathology and BBB breakdown.

Published in the current issue of JAMA Neurology, this study could help physicians in the decision-making process regarding treatment and when an athlete may return to the playing field.

The BGU research team on a mission to improve lives

Drumbeat to Stop Full Contact Football Grows Louder

We have witnessed the increased frequency of news reports about the dangers of undiagnosed head injuries and their long-term effects. See up-to-date search results from Google here.

Those who seek to quicken the march toward the emasculation of American society view these developments as a golden opportunity and cry loudly, “Fix this or stop full contact football. Do it for the children”.

Everyone wants to protect our players from injury and disability later in life. And as the hue and cry over the dangers of football grow louder with no solution in sight, participants and enthusiasts – from pee-wee to professional – envision a future limited to touch or flag football.

Will Israel Save American Football?

It would be an exaggeration to say that Israeli doctors have saved American football and the American male from further “wussification”, but it certainly is a step in the right direction.

“Neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor.” Leviticus 19:16

As the crow flies, Afghanistan is not that far from Israel. It’s about 3,500 miles – the same distance between Miami and Seattle. But the distance is measured in much more than miles.

Suicide Attack Kills 45, Injures 50 Others at Afghan Volleyball Game

Aftermath of the Taliban attack on sports fans:
Photo Credit Sky NewsOn week earlier, Sky News reported a suicide attack at a volleyball game in Afghanistan.

As spectators were busy cheering on their respective volleyball teams, a suicide bomber targeted those in attendance, killing 45 and wounding 50 others.

Friendly Competition Turns Deadly

According to eye witnesses, the suicide bomber walked into the crowd of spectators at the volleyball match in eastern Afghanistan and detonated his explosives vest.

From Sky News:

Abdulhay, an 11-year boy being treated for minor injuries in a hospital in Sharana, the provincial capital of Paktika, described the moment the bomb went off.

“I and my friends were watching the game and we were cheering each time our team scored. Then I heard a boom that threw me back unconscious. I opened my eyes in the hospital and don’t know if my friends are dead or alive.”

“There is no fun in Islam.” Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

Choose carefully the values that you live by. Your choice determines the world you live in.

By Hannah Szenes

“Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame”

The author publishes under the name Hannah Szenes to honor her courage and determination. Sent by the British into Nazi-occupied Hungary, Hannah was captured, tortured and executed. To this day, she is hailed as a Jewish and Israeli heroine. Her official goal was to help organize partisan resistance groups inside Hungary. Her personal goal was to find and save her mother and to bring hope to her people.