Thoughts On The Robert Smith Announcement

On the surface, the reason that we go to college is to receive a degree and hopefully use that degree to better our future and the future of our family. But the college experience is much more than the academics. It is about the friends we make, the experiences we have and the growth that occurs in between the day that we move into the dorm freshman year and the day that we receive our diplomas.

The problem is that the cost of college has risen exponentially over the past few years. Many college graduates not only walk away with a degree, but with stifling student loans that have the potential to cripple them financially for years to come.

This past weekend, billionaire investor Robert Smith addressed the class of 2019 at Morehouse College. During his commencement speech, he announced that he was paying off the student loans of every graduate.

In Judaism, we refer to a good person as a mensch. Mr. Smith is more than a mensch. He is not only helping out the young men who graduated yesterday, he is setting an example for all of us, especially other member of the 1%. We all have the capacity to do good in this world, we do not need to be a billionaire, we just need a heart, a conscious and a willingness to step forward.

I wish that there were more like Robert Smith in the world.

Advertisement

The Aquarium Review

The behind the scenes point of view is often (at least to my point of view) the most interesting and least mind numbing of the reality show sub-genres.

Last night, The Aquarium premiered on Animal Planet. An offshoot of The Zoo, The Aquarium goes behind the scenes of the running of the Georgia Aquarium. Each episode, the viewer is introduced to the animals that live in the aquarium, the staff that take care of the animals and the work that it takes to maintain the aquarium.

I like this show. It is not only entertaining, but it teaches about the importance of conservation without hitting the viewer over the head.

I recommend it.

The Aquarium airs on Sunday night at 8:00 on Animal Planet.

Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel Book Review

Spying is rarely as glamorous or simple as it appears to be in film and on television. It is often dangerous, requiring those who take up the charge of spying to potentially put their lives on the line for their cause and their country.

In the new non-fiction book, Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel, author Matti Friedman tells the true story of four young men of Sephardi Jewish descent (Jews who come from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa and the Middle East) who pretended to Muslim to spy for the newly born Israeli state in the late 1940’s.

Spy novels, whether they are fiction or based on fact are usually not my go to genre. However, this book is one heck of a read. It had the narrative of a James Bond movie combined with the true stories of four young men who put their own needs aside to protect their country and their people.

I recommend it.