Elul inspires me to ruminate on the state of the world. There are many who fear that we have entered the Age of Excuse. While historically we are a people who value, if not cherish, responsibility, how often do we hear, “It’s not my job”; “It’s not my problem”; “It’s not my fault”; “It’s the way I am.” Some have even devised a weltanschauung that describes this modern day attitude. Much has been written of suggesting we are simply genetically determined products, that our DNA makes us who we are and makes us do what we do. After the tragic murders at Virginia Tech, a major news magazine ran a cover headline, “What made him do it?” While we all acknowledge that our genetic matter certainly influences what we are, does it indeed determine how we act, or if we are responsible for our actions?I took comfort in the words of Dr. Dominic Purpura, noted neuro-scientist and Dean Emeritus of Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine: “Genes are not destiny. They tell us where we came from, not what we can become.” We must be better than our excuses; we are humans.
Richard M. Joel is the President of Yeshiva University. www.yu.edu
