Beautiful Souls Summary

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Collin Kenner Prof. Marsala English 201C 7 Sept. 2015 A Review of “Beautiful Souls” In early Christianity, the Ten Commandments were a set of commandments given by god to the Israelites defining the morals by which they should live. These commandments were an early example of the rules that served as a pillar for a prosperous society. They defined the morals that the members of society needed to live by if they were to be a part of society. When a person who perfectly adheres to the morals of society come along, we label them as heroes, and place them on a pedestal as the pinnacle of humanity. In the book Beautiful Souls by Eyal Press, Press delves into the cost of maintaining one’s own morals in the presence of adverse opinions from their…show more content…
She was a perfect example of the kind of hero Press focused on; normal person who acted on their morals, and saw them as absolute. In 2002, Leyla Wydler was hired by the Stanford Financial Company as an analyst. At the time, the 2007/2008 financial crisis hadn't yet occurred, and the economy was still in the middle of a giant housing bubble. Stanford was selling Certificates of Deposit that were advertised as a safe investment, however according to Wydler’s research, the investors’ money was instead invested in high risk markets like the stock and real estate. The employees of Stanford were pressured to sell the Certificates, when Wydler refused to sell she was fired. When called before the US Senate Committee on Housing, Banking, and Urban affairs Wydler testified: “Based on my due diligence results, I refrained from the selling the CD’s to my clients. On November 1st 2002 I was called into Mr. Comeaux’s office and told my employment was being terminated. I was asked to leave the premises immediately, and I was not allowed to discuss the matter.” (Wydler Testimony). Some of the employees noticed the problem but either ignored it or were too scared to say anything. The result of their silence is that Wydler and several employees like her stood up for the investors and paid for it. After being fired, Wydler claimed that the company confiscated her clients and her Bear Stearns account which…show more content…
It was a statement about the herd complex of humanity that a good person can punished by their peers for doing what they all know is morally right. Despite this, the actions of good people do eventually cause change. The aftereffects of Wydler’s testimony ended up leading to several changes in the financial world. Three years after Mrs. Wydler testified in front of the US senate committee, a hearing of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Financial Services occurred on the subject of the Stanford Ponzi scheme. In a statement during the hearing, Robert Khuzami a director in the Securities and Exchange Commission said: “the Inspector General’s report identified a need for reforms in the Division of Enforcement and the Office of Compliance Inspections and Exams, seven of which related to the Division of Enforcement. They included: revamping the way we handle the tens of thousands of complaints and tips and referrals we get every year; improving coordination between enforcement and examination.” (Hearing of the House of Representatives 15). Wydler's actions helped bring changes about. The fallout of the seven billion dollar fraud brought to light the ineffectiveness of the way the current financial system was regulated, and Wydler was responsible for the discovery of it. According to Press, in the years 2002 through 2008, Whistle blowers were
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