I like the new GEICO commercial, where the little kid gets hung up in the basketball hoop. It’s an irony that will go over the heads of many who will chuckle perhaps, completely missing the heavier story that underlies it.
The young couple stands in front of a nice suburban home, and tell us something to the effect that their 401k wasn’t going to be enough to send their 5 year-old son through college, so they “taught him to dunk.” In the background, the little boy slam-dunks a basket and hangs there. “Scholarship!” the mother proudly beams.
And while everyone watches and giggles, no one realizes the import of not the advertised message-a GEICO savings plan–but of the ease with which one can get access to an education by learning to bounce a ball. Easier than saving money or earning a scholarship based on intelligence and knowledge. Yep, college ain’t for smarties. College is for those who can play games.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology