STEVE GINSBURG

The meaning of life really is probably what in the Jewish religion they call Tikkun Olam.  Tikkun Olam means repair the world. And so, I guess I've been lucky to have a chance to live a life where I've had it pretty good - and I get to try to make it better for others, both in a community and a neighbor kind of way.  

Raising kids who are gonna make the world better, but also thinking about those bigger questions of like, how are we gonna make sure that we take care of the planet, that we preach tolerance and acceptance. How do we do those things to make the world better?   

I think if I do that, my life has meaning. I don't know if that's the big meaning of life, but if I do those things - if I try to repair the world, then my life will have meaning.  And when I am all done, I'll look back and go, I didn't waste my time. 

Hi, I'm Steve Ginsburg. So, I am a former lawyer - recovering lawyer - but I now run the Connecticut office of a nonprofit called the Anti Defamation League.  And ADL works in communities and schools and all over the place fighting hate and bigotry. 

We moved here to Westport in the fall of 2015. We had lived in Chicago for over a dozen years, and I grew up there, and our kids had spent their whole life there - and so it was a big leap for us to come to a community where we really knew nobody. So, we were nervous about it but knew we were coming to a great spot.  

And were excited about it, and then really the community was incredibly welcoming. Neighbors brought over cookies. Kids had play dates. People were inviting us to go on their boats or come over for dinner. It really was a very warm reception from people in Westport. 

For me, joining an organization, I get to work at one where you meet a lot of people, became a natural, social way to become part of the community. 

But I personally have always explored wherever I've lived through food.  And I usually just try to bring someone with me. So, instead of asking for someone, You want to go get a beer? I would just say, You want to go grab a hotdog? Or, Do you want to go meet me at Sherwood Diner? Or, Do you want to go meet me at the Black Duck? Like that was sort of how I made some friends. And people were really open to doing it, which was great. 

Certainly, moving to the northeast for our family has been, you know, exposure to a lot of new things. My kids try so many different things. The idea that my parents, who were first generation Americans, now have a grandson who's playing squash is an interesting thing and very fun. My other son has gotten into wrestling and he really loves it. And so, you can kind of try a lot of things here and so transforming our kids for sure has happened. 

For me, this is the first time where I've been really the face of an organization. I've never been someone who walked around town and people would stop and want to talk about things with. But it's been a really great thing. I get the chance -because people really care about what's going on in our world and they want to talk with me about it - so for me it's been a chance to kind of come out of my shell a little bit, in a very comfortable way because I know the reception that I'm getting in Westport. 

At ADL we talk about the iceberg approach and what we mean by that is 10 percent of an iceberg is above the water. Right? That's what you see. And so what we teach people as we try to break down bias and change hearts and minds is that every person - you might look at them and come to certain conclusions about their race or how they dress or their size - but you don't really know them until you hear their story. 

So, asking these questions and listening to the answers is incredibly powerful.  Because what you learn is that people who might look the same actually are really different in what they value, or do all day, or think about. And then people who look different might actually have a lot in common. 

So, when I think about transformation, especially related to my work, and raising kids - It's the changing and shaping of hearts and minds. What does it mean to talk with people, learn about them, and teach them, through sharing what you know so that they can look at things in a different way?