This I Believe

NPR has a new series they are putting on the air called "This I Believe" which is a remake of the old Edward R Murrow/CBS Radio series of the same name in the 1950s. It featured people from all walks of life articulating their life philosophy in 600 words or less. It even featured some famous folk and their philosophies, such as Jackie Robinson and Helen Keller, whose transcripts and original recordings are on the NPR site. According to the piece about the upcoming series on the radio this morning, the series was a phenomenon when it first aired and was hugely successful - a success they are attempting to recreate with this later day version.

The most fascinating thing to me was how "modern" the essays sounded - and how many of these could've been written verbatim today and be completely relevant. I'm excited to see if the new essays sound as thought provoking as the ones in the 1950s sounded. One more NPR-geek "series to watch"

These days I see America identified more and more with material things, less and less with spiritual standards. These days I see America acting abroad as an arrogant, selfish, greedy nation interested only in guns and dollars, not in people and their hopes and aspirations. We need a faith that dedicates us to something bigger and more important than ourselves or our possessions. Only if we have that faith will we able to guide the destiny of nations in this the most critical period of world history.