"This I Believe" was a five-minute CBS Radio Network Program hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow from 1951-1955. The show encouraged both famous and everyday people to write short essays about their personal motivation and then read them on the air. This I Believe became a cultural phenomenon that stressed individual belief rather than religious dogma. Since then, the show has been revived on multiple occasions and people have begun writing their own "This I Believe" essays outside of the show. Below are three essays of my choosing: one I agree with, one I disagree with, and one from a figure I recognize, and my responses to each one.
"Why I Close My Restaurant" by George Mardikian
San Francisco restauranteur George Mardikian tells of his immigration from Eastern Europe to the United States, and he explains how he tries to repay the warm embrace Americans ave given him.
"When I first arrived, I spoke very little English...practically no money. But I did have enthusiasm, the will to work, and bright hopes for a new life ahead...This wonderful land has been good to me. It has given me friends by the hundreds in all walks of life. I believe that in this society where love and mutual respect are fostered and encouraged, I must do more than contribute my share towards the material and the spiritual well being of all. I believe that friendship, which grows out of love and true humility, is the most important thing in life."
I was able to relate to this essay on a very personal essay. The very way Mardikian immigrated to the United States is quite similar to how my parents and I first moved to Kentucky. Granted, we were not being persecuted, but we had the same dreams and aspirations and Mardikian did. He left Armenia to find "a country that answered all [his] prayers for happiness and freedom. When he first arrived, we spoke very little English and had very little money with us; it was up to us to work hard and strive make it in the country. Now, more than ten years later, we have built a life for ourselves, one that I doubt we could shave imagined when we first arrived. And, much like Mardikian, this land has been wonderful and given us friends by the hundreds. We have been more than accepted in this society where love and mutual respect are fostered and encouraged, and I do believe that friendship is the most important thing in life.
"Paying the Rent of Service" by Lee Bristol
In a complex society and a coplex civilization, the individual is inevitable confused much of the time. But I believe that the basic solution of all world and group problems must first be solved by the individual himself. Now each one of us, whether we publicly admit it or not, has a deeply spiritual side.
"Now each one of us, whether we publicly admit it or not, has a deeply spiritual side. Not one of us can conceal it—scratch the surface and it’s always there. So first of all—and underlying all my credo—I believe in God and in an orderly universe."
WhileI do agree with some of what this author believes in and argues for, the fundamental core of her argument I have to disagree with. I do believe that an individual is in charge of his/her own happiness, that to solve larger problems first a solution must come from the individual, and that the antithesis of all solutions to happiness is selfishness "which is outstandingly the greatest world-wide vice." However, what I fail to agree with is the author's position that this personal solution to the worlds problems is one rooted in religion and a belief in God. There is no denying that belief in a higher power is a solution; however, it is not a universal solution. This approach to self-realization works only for a percentage of the people and there is contrary argument that demonstrates how people have been able to achieve self-actualiatio with this authors belief in God. Eahc person is fundamentally different, meaning that one's religious affiliation does not dictate one's ability to emerge out of "confusion" and find a "solution." Although I believe, to an extent, that everyone has a spiritual side, be it conventional or non, I disagree with this authors assertion because it implies a spiritual side in conjunction with the traditional, single God. There are many forms of spiritual beliefs, and a single belief cannot be mass attributed successfully to the entire population of the world.
"Life Grows in the Soil of Time" by Thomas Mann
German-born novelist, essayist, and philosopher won the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature.
"What I believe, what I value most, is transitoriness. But is not transitoriness—the perishableness of life—something very sad? No! It is the very soul of existence. It imparts value, dignity, interest to life. Transitoriness creates time—and “time is the essence.” Potentially at least, time is the supreme, most useful gift."
I strongly agree with Mann's statement on time in relation to life and existence. A renowned author, most people would recognize him for writing The Black Swan, off of which the recent movie was based. Mann claims that the very idea of impending time, transitoriness, is what is the impetus for humans to actually live. He states "life is possessed by a tremendous tenacity," in that even though the idea of time is conditional, and beginning and end are a human constructs, we have knowledge of this transitoriness thus enhancing our life. Time is related to everything creative and active, with every progress toward a higher goal. This idea is one of the most important characteristics distinguishing human life. It is our knowledge that life ends, that time is forever passing, that makes us strive to enhance our lives and progress towards something, anything. Man is meant to strive incessantly, achieve self-realization, move onward, and upward. And with the idea of time always present, that dedication to push forward is made even more pertinent. Man states, "Whether this belief be true or not, man would be well-advised if he behaved as though it were."
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