This I Believe

I enjoy listening to NPR at work. One of my favorite segments is one called, “This I believe.” It’s part of national media project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives. The segment airs on Mondays on NPR, and the whole collection of essays can be found at http://thisibelieve.org. Many of the essays chosen to play on NPR tend to be impressively insightful, or moving, or curious. Many often bring me to tears. This Monday’s essay was not necessarily anything more special than the rest, but I thought I’d share a few snippets and encourage people to check out some of the essays, either on NPR or the This I Believe homepage.

Sgt. Ernesto Haibi, Medic says:

“I believe in mankind -- not gods, not devils, not angels, and not spirits. I saw man's bravery from both soldier and civilian, and I saw horror and destruction from them, too. … I saw hate and loathing from all sides, and I saw caring for children, rebuilding of hospitals and schools, and feeding the poor. Not by a government, but by individuals, by one man helping another man. … I don't justify our reasons for this war -- that's not a soldier's luxury -- and I don't justify what the insurgents have done to the Iraqis. But the passion of all sides -- Iraqi, American, ally, and insurgent -- shows that if man can redirect his energies to one of acceptance and not intolerance, we can bring the zealot, the politician, the soldier and the outsider to a place where man is just that: man. … I believe that by striving for a world that accepts its oneness, we can transform wars, intolerance, religious persecution, and political extremism into memory, and maybe even folklore.”