ttu'; UP 11
BELIEVE
see things as inconce
to me today as
he was sixteen, or
was to my grandfather
Free Minds and Hearts at Work
JACKIE ROBINSON,
AS FEATURED
IN
THE 1950S SERIES
-.:e...
\C
ColI
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD SERIES of
Q
enced a completely new emotion, when the national anthem
Q
ColI
1947)
I experI-
was played. This time, I thought, it is being played tor me,
as much as for anyone else. This is organized major-league
baseball, and I am standing here with all the others; and
everything that takes place includes me.
About a year later, I went to Atlanta, Georgia, to play in
an exhibition game. On the field, for the first time in Atlanta,
there were Negroes and whites. Other Negroes, besides me.
And I thought: What I have always believed has come to be.
And what is it that I have always believed? First, that
19 6
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THIS
JACKIE
BELIEVE
imperfections are human. But that wherever human beings
And this chance has come to
because there is noth-
were given room to breathe and time to think, those imper-
ing static with free people. There is no Middle Ages logic so
fections would disappear, no matter how slowly. I do not
strong that it can stop the human tide from flowing for-
believe that we have found or even approached perfection.
ward. I do not believe that every person, tn every walk of life,
That is not necessarily in the scheme of human events.
can succeed in spite of any handicap. That would be perfec-
Handicaps, stumbling blocks, prejudices-all of these are
tion. But I do believe-·and with every fiber in me-that
imperfect. Yet, they have to be reckoned with because they are
what I was able to attain came to be because we put behind
in the scheme of human events.
us no matter how slowly) the dogmas of the past to dis-
Whatever obstacles I found made me fight all the
harder. But it would have been impossible for me to fight at
except that I was sustained by the personal and deep-
\C
.....
ROIIlNSON
cover the truth of today, and perhaps find the greatness of
tomorrow.
I believe in the human race. I believe in the warm heart.
rooted belief that my fight had a chance. It had a chance
r believe
in man's integrity. I believe in the goodness of a
-
because it took place tn a free society. Not once was I forced
free society. And I believe that the society can remain good
0\
W
to face and fight an immovable object. Not once was the sit-
only as long as we are willing to fight for it-and to fight
w
C?
uation so cast-iron rigid that I had no chance at all. free
against whatever imperfections may exist.
w
minds and human hearts were at work all around me; and so
g
My fight was against the barriers that kept Negroes out
of baseball. This was the area where I found imperfection,
was the probability of improvement.
I look at my children now and know that I must still
and where
r wa..,
best able to fight. And
r fought
because I
prepare them to meet obstacles and prejudices. But I can tell
knew it was not doomed to be a losing fight. It couldn't
them, too, that they will never face some of these prejudices
a losing fight-not when it took place tn a free society.
because other people have gone before them. And to myself
And, in the largest sense,
r believe
that what I did was
I can say that, because progress is unalterable, many of
done for me-and that my faith in God sustained me in
roday's dogmas will have vanished by the time they grow
fight. And that what was done for me must and will be done
tnto adults. I can say to my children: There
for others.
IS
a chance for
you. No guarantee, but a chance.
"
19 8
199
\If .. ."
"",'.0;
THlS
In 1947, JACKIE
ROBINSON
BELIEVE
pioneered the integration
of American pro-
fessional athletics by becoming the first black player in major-league baseball, During his ten seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he played on six
Growth That Starts from Thinking
World Series teams and was voted the National League's Most Valuable
Player in 1949,
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT,
AS FEATURED IN THE 19505 SERIES
...
'
.!
.
01
W
o
s
f
IT SEEMS TO ME A VERY DIFFICULT THING to put into words
beliefs we hold and what they make you do in your life. I
think I was fortunate because I grew up in a family where
there was a very deep religious feeling. I don't think it was
spoken of a great deal. It was more or less taken for granted
that everybody held certain beliefs and needed certain reinforcement of their own strength and that that came through
belief in God and your knowledge of prayer.
200
20r
.>
I:OOE'-OE9 ("16)
r
U!',
GLORlA
S T E I N EM
species, and that Europe deserved more textbook space than
Africa and Asia combined.
A Balance between Nature and Nurture
Instead, I grew up seeing with my own eyes, followmg
my curiosity, falling in love with books, and growing up
mostly around grown-ups-which, except for the books,
was the way kids were raised for most of human history.
Needless to say, school hit me like a ton of bricks. I
GLORIA STEIN EM
wasn't prepared for gender obsessions, race and class complexities, or the new-to-me idea that war and male leadership were part of human nature. Soon, I gave in and became
an adolescent hoping for approval and trying to conform; it
"
!
-....
was a stage that lasted through college.
\0
I owe the beginnings of rebirth to living in India for a
.!:
o
a
couple of years, where I fell in with a group of Gandhians,
Is IT NATURE OR IS IT NURTURE? Heredity or Society? In that
and then I came home to the Kennedys, the civil rights
great debate of our time, conservatives lean toward the for-
movement, and protests against the war in Vietnam.
mer and liberals toward the latter. But I believe both are ask-
But most women, me included, stayed in our traditional
ing the wrong question. I believe it's both nature and
places until we began to gather, listen to each other's stories,
nurture and this is why:
and learn from shared experience. Soon, a national and
I didn't go to school until I was twelve or so. My par-
mternational feminist movement was challenging the idea
ents thought that traveling in a house trailer was as enlight-
that what happened to men was political but what happened
ening as sitting
to women was cultural; that the first could be changed but
In
a classroom, so I escaped being taught
some of the typIcal lessons of my generation-for instance:
the second could not.
that this country was "discovered" when the first white man
I had the feeling of coming home, of awakening from an
set foot on it, that boys and girls were practically different
inauthentic life. It wasn't as if I thought my self-authority
228
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--
THIS
Ii:
BELIEVE
GLORIA
was more important than external authority, but it wasn't less
important, either. \Ve are both communal and uniquely ourselves, not either/or.
STEINEM
we talked to them? Or what would happen if even one generation were raised with respect and without violence?
I believe we have no idea what might be possible on
Since then, I've spent decades listening to kids before
"Space Ship Earth."
and after social roles hit. Faced with some inequality, the
younger ones say, "It's not fair'" It's as if there were some
primordial expectation of empathy and cooperation that
helps the species survive. But by the time kids are teenagers,
SOCIal pressures have either nourished or starved this expectation. I suspect that their natural cry for fairness-or any
whisper of it that survives-is the root from which all
GLORIA STEINEM
is a
and
inspired her to fight for the rights
en
the late 1950.1
of women and the poor Sieinem founded
Ms. magazine in 1972 and is the author
So I no longer believe the conservative message that
children are naturally selfish and destructive creatures who
need civilizing by hierarchies or painful controls. On the
contrary, I believe that hierarchy and painful controls create
destructive people.
And I no longer believe the liberal message that children
are blank slates on which society can write anything. On the
contrary, I believe a unique core self is born into every
human being; the result of millennia of environment and
heredity combined in an unpredictable way that could never
happen before or again.
The real answer is a balance between nature and nurture.
to
activist in the
peace, and civil rights movements, A fellowship to India
social justice movements grow.
What would happen if we listened
SOCIal
children as much as
23 0
2)1
books,
--vc,. -V\
Ii,
THIS
BELIEVE
three things, a country that offers nothing but the promise
of being more fully human, and never guarantees its success.
that constant failure to arrive-implied at the very
Always Go to the Funeral
beginning-lies the possibility of a permanently fresh start,
an old newness, a way of revitalizing ourselves and our civilization in ways few foresaw and one day many will forget.
But the point is now. And the place is America.
DEIRDRE SULLIVAN
ANDREW SULLIVAN
was born in England and educated at Oxjord and
Harvard, At twenty-seven, he became editor if The New Republic, a
position he held jor five years, As a writer, commentator, and blogger,
Sulhvan addresses political and social issues and advocates jor gay rights,
o
o
I
BELIEVE IN ALWAYS GOING TO THE FUNERAL.
father
taught me that.
S
The first time he said it directly to me, I was sixteen and
trying to get out of going to calling hours for Miss
Emerson, myoId fifth-grade math teacher. I did not want to
go. My father was unequivocal. "Dee," he said, "you're
going. Always go to the funeraL Do it for the family."
So my dad waited outside while I went in. It was worse
than I thought it would be: I was the only kid there. When
the condolence line deposited me in front of Miss Emerson's
shell-shocked parents, I stammered out, "Sorry about all
234
"
235
THIS
three things, a country
BELIEVE
offers nothing but the promise
of being more fully human, and never guarantees its success.
Always Go to the Funeral
In that constant failure to arrive-implied at the very
beginning-lies the possibility of a permanently fresh start,
an old newness, a way of revitalizing ourselves and our civilization in ways few foresaw and one day many will forget.
But the point is now. And the place is America.
DEIRDRE SULLIVAN
ANDREW SULLIVAN
was born in England and educated at Oxford and
Harvard. At twenty-seven} he became editor 0/ The New Republic, a
position he held jor five years. As a writer, commentator; and blogger,
Sullivan addresses political and social issues and fldvocates jor gay
I
BELIEVE IN ALWAYS GOING TO THE FUNERAL.
father
taught me that.
The first time he said it directly to me, I was sixteen and
trying to get out of going to calling hours for
Emerson, myoId fifth-grade math teacher. I did not want to
My father was unequivocal. "Dee;' he said, "you're
going. Always go to the funeraL Do it for the family."
So my dad waited outside while I went in. It was worse
than I thought it would be: I was the only kid there. When
the condolence line deposited me in front of MISS Emerson's
shell-shocked parents, I stammered out, "Sorry about
2>5
234
(914) 630-$UU;)
THIS
BELIEVE
DEtRDRE
this;' and stalked away. But, for that deeply weird expression
of sympathy delivered twenty years ago, Miss Emerson's
mother
remembers
name and
says hello with
tearing eyes.
That was the first time I went unchaperoned,
but
my
parents had been taking us kids to funerals and calling
hours as a matter of course for years. By the time I was sixteen, I had been to five or six funerals. I remember two
things from the funeral circuit: bottomless dishes of free
mints, and my father saying on the ride home, "You
come in without going out, kids. Always go to the ('
,"
. Sounds simple-when someone dies, get m your car
and
to calling hours or the funeral.
I can do. But I
think a personal philosophy of going to funerals means
more than that.
"Always go to the funeral" means that I have to do the
right thing when I really, really don't
SULLtVAl<
sus evll. It's hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is
doing good versus domg nothing.
In going to funerals, I've come to believe that while I
wait to make a grand heroic gesture, I should just stick to
the small inconvemences that let me share in life's inevitable,
occasional calamity.
On a cold April mght three years ago, my father clled a
quiet death from cancer. His funeral was on a Wednesday,
middle of the workweek. I had been numb for days when,
for some reason, during the funeral, I turned and looked
back at the folks in the church. The memory of it still takes
breath away. The most human, powerful, and humbling
thing I've ever seen was a church at roo on a Wednesday full
of inconvenienced people who believe in going to the
funeral.
like it. I have to
remind myself of it when I could make some small gesture,
but I don't really have to and I definitely don't want to. I'm
talking about those things that represent only inconvenience to me, but the world to the other guy. You know, the
painfully underattended birthday party. The hospital visit
during happy hour. The shiva call for one of my ex's uncles.
DEIRDRE SULLIVAN
New York, and traveled the
grew up in
world workinp odd jobs bifore
She is now
attorney
says herfather's greatest gift to her and
through the process cj his death.
In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn't been good ver-
237
(914) 630-3UU':'
m Brooklyn. Sui/ivan
was how he
them
".A
:,.,Ji
Finding the Strength to Fight Our Fears
TERRY AHWAL
I
BELIEVE IN FIGHTING FEAR.
vVhen I was eleven years old and living under the Israeli
occupation, I took a chance and after curfew I ran to visit
my grandmother who lived two blocks away from us. On
the road I had to hide under a truck to avoid soldiers who
were coming my way. For twenty minutes I lay there in utter
fear watching their boots walk back and forth in front of
the truck. My heart was pounding so fast and loud that I
was afraid one of the soldiers would hear it and I would be
killed instantly.
To calm myself, I started begging God to take mercy
!I
"_,, _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ __
T
HIS
BELIEVE
II
TERRY
AHWAL
on me and save me from these men and their guns. I re-
soldiers might have pulled the trigger because of their own
membered the words of my mother after Israeli soldiers
fears. Thank God I lived to wonder about this. I understood
beat mv father. She told us to put our fear and anger aside
as a child that fear can be deadly.
pray tor the poor soldiers, who were also afraid because
they were away from their homes in IsraeL
I believe it is fear we should be fighting, not the" other.
We all belong to the same human tribe; that kinship su-
I began to feel bad for the soldiers. I wondered: Where
do they sleep and are they afraid of little children like me?
persedes our differences. We are all soldiers patrolling the
road, and we're all little children hiding under the truck.
What kind of food do they eat? Do they have big or small
amllles? Their voices began to remind me
my neighbors.
My fear dissipated a bit as I pIctured the soldiers as people
I knew. Although my twenty minutes under the truck
TERRY AHWAL
seemed like an eternity, I believe that shedding mv fear lit-
lives with
near DetrOit. She is
naOUHallon Institute
0/ Michigan,
saved my life.
Thirty-six years later I look around and see another
kind
devastation created by fear. I saw the collapse of my
Detroit, when so many white people fled the city out
of fear. After 9/11, the Arab and Muslim communities
segregated themselves because of the level of suspicion directed at them from others. Fear of association because of
ethmcity led many to retreat within themselves and theIr
community. They stopped socializing with non-Arabi
Muslim colleagues and neighbors. Once agam, we allow
differences to separate us because of fear.
When I was hiding under that truck. if my terror
made me lose control and I had started to cry, the jittery
II
was born in the West Bank
r:f Ramallah, and now
veLonmmt
directorjor the Re-
and teaches classes in nonviolent com-
munication at Madonna Univenitv Ahwal satd her
JeWish and that Thanksgiving in thm household is a mix
Arabs coming together with no uneasiness.
IS
0/ Jews
and
.,
--------"-'"
AMELIA
BAXTER-STOLTZl'US
have in my life and holding on to it, even if only at the base
of a follicle, because I also believe in roots.
Returning to What)s Natural
My mother always tells me that the
born
color vou're
I
I want
is the one that looks the best on you,
to make sure that there's something insIde of me that's
ways going to be worth returning to. Maybe the
111
fall out of touch with people I thought I was
Maybe
AMELIA BAXTER-STOLTZFUS
my parents will never be home for me aga1l1.
close to in high school. Maybe I'll hate the way a
brown washes me out. But
know
111
twenty to
twenty-six washes, I'll come back to something that I've
naturally forever, and I'll know it looks pretty good.
Here's where the hypocrisy comes in. Every time you
get away from home, thinking how you're going to rein-
I BELIEVE IN SEMIPERMANENT HAIR DYE: THE kind that
vent yourself. you end up hanging on to the things
you have a
yourself that are the most familiar. Feeling
wacky purple-headed weeks in the depress-
isn't about
ing months of winter term, but leaves you plain and
setting limits on the outside. It's about hanging on for dear
brunette again in time for graduation pictures. The
life to what's on the inside, no matter how your context
that lets you be whoever you want without letting go of
changes. Because, honestly, you'll never know whether you
how you got there. The kind that lets you embrace those in-
look fantastic as a redhead unless you've tried.
ternal contradictions that make up an entire, oxymoronic,
will know is that you have brown to return to,
complex, complete human being. I believe in hypocrisy, just
ready.
I've'
a
Semipermanent hair dye is about finding security
moved into
and New Jersey
first apartment all on
never felt so
you
you're
own,
away. But this new inde-
within unlimited freedom. It's about recognizing what I
pendence could only come from dependence, from knowing
26
27
l>'f•.•...•,.;'''.• r •.. ' •.•
T
HIS
BELIEVE
...• " ..• ••"''''
II
that there are unshakable things in my life that have made me
ready to face all the Big Bads in the world. We can't be toddlers or teenagers forever, and there's too much out there to
experience to make me want to dwell
toO
The Right to Be Fully American
much in the
So I do believe in permanent change-just not for mv hair.
'- ....----:::0
AMELlA BAXTER-STOLTZFUS.
Sltv
of Chicago,
YASIR BILLOO
an anthropology SHldent at the Umver-
wrote her essay when she was still
In
school
in
New Jersey. Slllce then, her hair has been black, red, and purple
III
addition to her natural brown.
I AM AN AMERICAN AND
LIKE
ALMOST everyone
am also something else. I was raised to believe that
America embraces all people from all faiths,
that long-standing belief-along with both pans or my
identity-have come under attack. And as an Amencan
Muslim
Pakistan i descent,
attack is tearing me
apart.
Twice, I have sworn to uphold and protect
Consti-
tution and the laws of this nation: once when I became a
citizen and once when I became an attorney. I live and work
every day with the thought that this is mv home. This is
28
29
C
. . ,.. . "..,.".6..rk"'.. ', .",
THIS
place I
BEL
EVE
YASIR
to get back to when I go overseas. I feel the
same relief many of you do standing in the customs
Just hearing English again. It is the simple
Quran
BI1LOO
us that God created us from a sin-
gle pair, and made us into nations and tribes so mat we may
know each other. not so that we may despise each other.
commg
I am an immigrant, and I still believe in the basic right
I am also a Muslim. I was born in a foreign
skin is not white, and I have facial hair even though it
to be fully Amencan and fully Muslim. But now I pray that
America
keep me
embrace.
barely passes for a beard. Not only am I a Muslim when I
pray my daily prayers or when I fast during the month of
Ramadan, I am also a Muslim when I walk through airport
security or in the mall when I aCcidentally leave a bag of re-
YASIR BILLOO
cent purchases unattended. Every day, I have to '
law in Miami. He was born
myself to new clients, judges. and other attorneys
and moved to Florida about
ally think
how I can
less foreign.
languages and
PakIstan, raised ill Los Angeles,
In
ago.
own name so that it
threatening.
When I am in Pakistan, I find myself defending AmerIca. our way at life, and our government's policies. My PakIstam cousms are qUicK to point the finger at America for
world problems and I push back to ask what the rest of
the world has done that is so much better.
America, my beloved home, I find myself
defending Islam, my beautiful religion. I tell people to envision me when they think of Muslims and Islam, not the terrorist mug shots
I feel like an American, just like
cannot, I
feel like a foreigner.
JO
commercial
JI
..
..
Teaching a Bad Dog
Tricks
',--*-----=:;'
DAVID BUETOW
I
BEllEVE IN MY DOG.
I believe in the way he lives his life, and I try to emulate
his level of happiness in
wrzterfor a company that
K#o(/ewav used to work
In
Like the
simplest
he approaches each meal
less appreciation and even JOY, While I struggle to decide
what to eat from full cupboards and lament what I don't
he circles the floor, excitedly antICipating the very
same meal, in the very same portion, at
every day.
I believe in how he lives in the present. As my
with stress, crowded commutes, and endless deadlines. I
40
41
.. "
THIS
BELIEVE
of Duncan home alone. His
DAVID
was probably
...
..
B!JETOW
All of a sudden, where no one depended on me, he
but he's ready to move right past it once we're together.
It was extreme detox from selfishness: Let me out. Feed me.
I believe in his egalitarian treatment of everyone despite
Clean up after me. Watch me sleep. I found that I
race, creed, or appearance. He never prejudges. Before I had
liked being relied upon. When I realized mat
him, I considered myself"street smarr," avoiding eye contact
his needs, I
with people I didn't know or didn't think I wanted to know.
Could meet
nobility of Duncan's loyalty,
his en-
realized he met mine.
I believe in
Running through Chicago neighborhoods with Duncan has
thusiasm. Every
changed all that. Now when people smile at us, I smile back,
greet me with glee.
and if Duncan stops to say hello I stop and greet them, too.
1
I come in
door. he's waJtmg to
Now, when my girlfriend Comes over, I get up and run
I never had a dog before; I got Duncan at the urging
door to greet her like I learned to do from my dog.
a friend who had probably grown as tired of my bachelor
behavior as I had. My long work nights and weekends
ways ended with a lonely run, a bourbon or two, or a phone
to someone I didn't really listen to. All I talked about
he met his chocolate Labrador, Duncan, trial
was me and what was wrong with my life. My friends
BUETOW
stopped asking me out because I was always either at
was a lifelong bachelor. Since Buetow wrote
became his fiancee, and
along with Duncan, live
I had dates with women who would mistakenly think I
was loyal to them but I never returned their calls or thanked
them for the cookies they left on my doorstep. I was what
some people would call" a dog"-a bad dog. Not one person depended on me, nor I upon
One Sunday I woke
up at noon, and I suddenly noticed how
house
I realized I couldn't expect
until I created one first. So I
valued re-
Duncan.
4"
__
_ _,,v.._,.,,,,,,_.....
essay, his
011
Chicago
North Side) where all three spend many evenings together at home.
or talking about work.
was-and my
DAVID
hiS
4)
•••""'.. ,"_,..,..,.____..__._ _.........
..
...._..,
" __
___•__ _
THIS
BELIEVE
Failure Is a Good Thing
the precise reason
JON CARROLL
know that the
WEEK MY GRANDDAUGHTER STARTED KINDERGARTEN, AND,
success. I was
I believe in
failure.
IS
boring. Success is proving that you can
her twmcy-year ca-
something that you already know you can do, or doing
Carpenter and her hus-
something correctly the first time, which can often be a
problematic victory. First-time success is usually a fluke.
First-time failure, by contrast, is expected; it is the natural
we
46
_______
'".•
__
__
I
an
47
__ ____ ,,,,,,,",.......
....,,,,.. .....,.,,, __
...""."""......
,,.......,."" .........",,.,.,......., ,-..,,<_ _
..
•
... 'J'''''' _ _ , .... _ ...,_""_-..""_""".
l>'f•.•...•,.;'''.• r •.. ' •.•
T
HIS
BELIEVE
...• " ..• ••"''''
II
that there are unshakable things in my life that have made me
ready to face all the Big Bads in the world. We can't be toddlers or teenagers forever, and there's too much out there to
experience to make me want to dwell
toO
The Right to Be Fully American
much in the
So I do believe in permanent change-just not for mv hair.
'- ....----:::0
AMELlA BAXTER-STOLTZFUS.
Sltv
of Chicago,
YASIR BILLOO
an anthropology SHldent at the Umver-
wrote her essay when she was still
In
school
in
New Jersey. Slllce then, her hair has been black, red, and purple
III
addition to her natural brown.
I AM AN AMERICAN AND
LIKE
ALMOST everyone
am also something else. I was raised to believe that
America embraces all people from all faiths,
that long-standing belief-along with both pans or my
identity-have come under attack. And as an Amencan
Muslim
Pakistan i descent,
attack is tearing me
apart.
Twice, I have sworn to uphold and protect
Consti-
tution and the laws of this nation: once when I became a
citizen and once when I became an attorney. I live and work
every day with the thought that this is mv home. This is
28
29
C
. . ,.. . "..,.".6..rk"'.. ', .",
THIS
place I
BEL
EVE
YASIR
to get back to when I go overseas. I feel the
same relief many of you do standing in the customs
Just hearing English again. It is the simple
Quran
BI1LOO
us that God created us from a sin-
gle pair, and made us into nations and tribes so mat we may
know each other. not so that we may despise each other.
commg
I am an immigrant, and I still believe in the basic right
I am also a Muslim. I was born in a foreign
skin is not white, and I have facial hair even though it
to be fully Amencan and fully Muslim. But now I pray that
America
keep me
embrace.
barely passes for a beard. Not only am I a Muslim when I
pray my daily prayers or when I fast during the month of
Ramadan, I am also a Muslim when I walk through airport
security or in the mall when I aCcidentally leave a bag of re-
YASIR BILLOO
cent purchases unattended. Every day, I have to '
law in Miami. He was born
myself to new clients, judges. and other attorneys
and moved to Florida about
ally think
how I can
less foreign.
languages and
PakIstan, raised ill Los Angeles,
In
ago.
own name so that it
threatening.
When I am in Pakistan, I find myself defending AmerIca. our way at life, and our government's policies. My PakIstam cousms are qUicK to point the finger at America for
world problems and I push back to ask what the rest of
the world has done that is so much better.
America, my beloved home, I find myself
defending Islam, my beautiful religion. I tell people to envision me when they think of Muslims and Islam, not the terrorist mug shots
I feel like an American, just like
cannot, I
feel like a foreigner.
JO
commercial
JI
..
..
Teaching a Bad Dog
Tricks
',--*-----=:;'
DAVID BUETOW
I
BEllEVE IN MY DOG.
I believe in the way he lives his life, and I try to emulate
his level of happiness in
wrzterfor a company that
K#o(/ewav used to work
In
Like the
simplest
he approaches each meal
less appreciation and even JOY, While I struggle to decide
what to eat from full cupboards and lament what I don't
he circles the floor, excitedly antICipating the very
same meal, in the very same portion, at
every day.
I believe in how he lives in the present. As my
with stress, crowded commutes, and endless deadlines. I
40
41
.. "
THIS
BELIEVE
of Duncan home alone. His
DAVID
was probably
...
..
B!JETOW
All of a sudden, where no one depended on me, he
but he's ready to move right past it once we're together.
It was extreme detox from selfishness: Let me out. Feed me.
I believe in his egalitarian treatment of everyone despite
Clean up after me. Watch me sleep. I found that I
race, creed, or appearance. He never prejudges. Before I had
liked being relied upon. When I realized mat
him, I considered myself"street smarr," avoiding eye contact
his needs, I
with people I didn't know or didn't think I wanted to know.
Could meet
nobility of Duncan's loyalty,
his en-
realized he met mine.
I believe in
Running through Chicago neighborhoods with Duncan has
thusiasm. Every
changed all that. Now when people smile at us, I smile back,
greet me with glee.
and if Duncan stops to say hello I stop and greet them, too.
1
I come in
door. he's waJtmg to
Now, when my girlfriend Comes over, I get up and run
I never had a dog before; I got Duncan at the urging
door to greet her like I learned to do from my dog.
a friend who had probably grown as tired of my bachelor
behavior as I had. My long work nights and weekends
ways ended with a lonely run, a bourbon or two, or a phone
to someone I didn't really listen to. All I talked about
he met his chocolate Labrador, Duncan, trial
was me and what was wrong with my life. My friends
BUETOW
stopped asking me out because I was always either at
was a lifelong bachelor. Since Buetow wrote
became his fiancee, and
along with Duncan, live
I had dates with women who would mistakenly think I
was loyal to them but I never returned their calls or thanked
them for the cookies they left on my doorstep. I was what
some people would call" a dog"-a bad dog. Not one person depended on me, nor I upon
One Sunday I woke
up at noon, and I suddenly noticed how
house
I realized I couldn't expect
until I created one first. So I
valued re-
Duncan.
4"
__
_ _,,v.._,.,,,,,,_.....
essay, his
011
Chicago
North Side) where all three spend many evenings together at home.
or talking about work.
was-and my
DAVID
hiS
4)
•••""'.. ,"_,..,..,.____..__._ _.........
..
...._..,
" __
___•__ _
THIS
BELIEVE
Failure Is a Good Thing
the precise reason
JON CARROLL
know that the
WEEK MY GRANDDAUGHTER STARTED KINDERGARTEN, AND,
success. I was
I believe in
failure.
IS
boring. Success is proving that you can
her twmcy-year ca-
something that you already know you can do, or doing
Carpenter and her hus-
something correctly the first time, which can often be a
problematic victory. First-time success is usually a fluke.
First-time failure, by contrast, is expected; it is the natural
we
46
_______
'".•
__
__
I
an
47
__ ____ ,,,,,,,",.......
....,,,,.. .....,.,,, __
...""."""......
,,.......,."" .........",,.,.,......., ,-..,,<_ _
..
•
... 'J'''''' _ _ , .... _ ...,_""_-..""_""".
- - - - - - ,......
..
THIS
BELIEVE
II
ON
C,\RROLL
phrase describing a good cook as "she who has broken
profound public embarrassment in order to feed her souL
many pots." If you've spent enough time in the kitchen to
And if she can do that fifteen feet in the air, we all
have broken a lot of POtS, probably you know a fair amount
able to do it.
cooking. I once had a late dinner with a group of
My granddaughter is a perfectionist, probably too
chefs, and they spent time comparing knife wounds and
burn scars. They knew how much credibility their failures
of one. She will feel her failures. and I will want to
comfort
But I will also, I hope, remind
of what she
gave them.
learned, and how she can do whatever it is better next time.
I earn my living by writing a daily newspaper
I probably won't tell her that failure is a good thing, because
Each week I am aware that one column is going to be the
that's not a lesson you can learn when you're five. I hope I
worst column of the week. 1 don't set out to write it; I
can tell her, though, that it's not the end of the world. In-
best every day. Still, every week, one column is inferior
deed, with luck, it is the beginning.
to all the others, sometimes spectacularly so.
I have learned to cherish that column. A successful column usually means I am treading on familiar ground, going
with the tricks that work. preaching to the choir, or dressing
popular sentiments in fancy words. Often in
columns, I am trying to
inferior
off something I've never done
before, something I'm not even sure can be done.
My younger daughter
IS
JON
CARROLL started at the San Francisco Chronicle
and writing IV hstings, He has been a
paper smce 1982. Carroll has also held eduorlal positions at
Stone, the ViUaec Voice, and
a trapeze artist. She spent three
putting together an act. She
decade with the Cirque du
it successfully tor a
There was no reason for
her to change the act-but she did
She said She was
no longer learning anything new and she was bored; and if
she was bored, there was no point in subjecting her body to
stress. So she changed the act. She risked failure and
48
."
... , .., ..
49
..
JOEL
ENGARDIO
my mom. We were preaching that Jehovah's kingdom was
coming soon to solve the world's problems. I prayed no one
from school was behind those doors. Dogs I
Learning True Tolerance
run
It was hard enough being smgled out as the kid who
celebrate Christmas or say the Pledge of
There was little tolerance for my explanation that we
worshipped God, and that God wasn't American. There was
no tolerance
JOEL ENGARDIO
I announced to my third-grade class that
Santa Claus was
and a lie.
Still, I didn't have a bad
Our Saturdav
j
ministry meant sacrificing
cartoons, but our ten
0' clock
coffee break was a blessing.
That's when we would gather at Dunkin' Donuts, trying not
to get powdered sugar on our suits and dresses, while we
I WAS RAISED AS A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS. If I ever knocked on
your door when you were mowing the lawn or taking a
please excuse me. I understand: A kid with a Watchtower
magazme on
ies, but, hey,
I believe
front porch isn't a Girl
with cook-
speech,
laughed. We always knew when you were
but hiding."
As a teenager. I decided fitting in at school and in life
was worth sacrificing some principles.
I never became a
didn't have to sic your dog on me.
Jehovah's Witness. That was the first time I broke my
we treat the people we dislike the most and
heart. The second time was
understand the least-Jehovah's Witnesses, for
says a
told stones
about the freedoms we value in America:
personal libertv. And aU of
freedoms
Obviously I don't
with my mom's belief that
same-sex relatlonshios are wrong. But I tolerate her relia right to her beliefs. And I llk:e It
mom doesn't politicize her beliefs. She's never
on one tnmg: tolerance.
I learned this as a kid when I went door-knocking with
76
"
I told her I am gay.
a law that discriminates against gay people, or
77
.;........_ _
T
H ! S
BELIEVE
II
anyone who isn't a Jehovah's Witness. Her Bible tells her to
love, above alL
My belief in tolerance led to a documentary
DOing Things My Own VVcty
made about Jehovah's Witnesses, and my mom actually likes
it. The message IS about being open to letting people have
views we don't Eke, so in that sense it could also be about
Muslims, gay people, or NASCAR race fans. The point
people we don't understand become less
'---_..----:::J
IS
when we
BELA FLECK
get to know them as real people. We don't have to be each
other's cup of rea, but tolerance lets a variety of kettles
peacefully share the stove.
I believe our capacity to tolerate both religious and personal difference is what will ultimately give us true libertyeven if it means putting up with an occasional knock on
the door.
I
BELIEVE IN FIGURING OUT MY OWN
way to
approach can yield great results, but
sides.
JOEL ENGARDJO
is a program strategist for the American Civil Liberties
Union in San FranCISCo. He has written for the New York Times,
USA Today. and other papers
rlfsses}
HIS
documentary about Jebowlh's VVlt-
called Knocking, arred on PBS in 2007.
things.
got Its negative
Much of my individualist, boneheaded nature comes
from my grandfather.
Opa grew up in New York's rough-and-tumble Lower
East Side, didn't
to college, but owned and ran two suc-
cessful businesses: a restaurant and a car wash. He figured
out what he wanted to do, and how to do it. without studying a manual. He used his own creativity to solve problems
as they came up.
78
79
·" F,?"
•
""I:';;:,
THIS
BELIEVE
II
.i
BELA
·'e'i>t' '+"'l'
FLECK
After he died, realtors tried to sell his home. They dis-
him special by learning conventional approaches to rhythm
covered he had devised his own way of hooking up the sep-
and harmony. I'd like to think that the same is true for me,
tic system. No one could figure out how it worked, so it
but I'm not convinced. I worry that my approach might not
couldn't pass codes. But it worked, and for many years be-
be built on a strong enough musical foundation.
yond his time.
It's this fear that allows me no rest in my musical pur-
Sometimes I wonder if my banjo playing would pass
suits. When I'm at work-whether it is writing, practicing,
codes. I didn't learn to play bluegrass, classical music, or
or editing and mixing CDs-I obsess. To say that I am
jazz in school. I took banjo lessons from some of the best,
picky is an understatement. Delegating is pretty much im-
but my breakthrough moments came when I left the lesson
possible; I can be downright controlling. I have to get every-
plans. I remember seeing jazz great Chick Corea when I was
thing just right. Then, one day, the mtensity disappears.
seventeen. There was a moment of revelation when I realized
This usually means the project is done.
that all the notes he was playing had to exist on my banjo.
My grandfather didn't seem
to
worry that he was mak-
I went home and stayed up most of the night, figuring out
ing it up as he went along, and I try not to either. I believe
the scales, modes, and arpeggios for myself, mapping out
in living with and giving in to my obsessive side when it
the banjo fingerboard in my own way.
serves the music. I believe in doing things my own way, and
When I perform with my own group, my map of the
I want them
to
last, just like my grandfather's plumbing.
banjo is all I need. But when I move into more conventional
jazz or classical situations, I don't always have the tools to fit
in. I can barely read music. I don't thoroughly understand
the conventions of each tradition and I'm not sure how to
BELA FLECK
voice jazz chords-which notes to leave out, how the scales
entered New York City's High School
work, all the rhythmic concepts.
breaking work with New Grass Revival, the Flecktones, and other groups
I heard that when George Gershwin wanted to study
got his first banjo from his grandfather the same week Fleck
has redefined the sound and image
of the banjo.
harmony from Ravel, he was advised against it. Ravel felt
that Gershwin would obliterate the very thing that made
80
of MUSIC
81
and Art. HIs ground-
"Oilg
,,. . . . .
*&.£net
R
BERT
<'tzl' _
,j
:::!'!f
*ten' ut
FULGHUM
button, and it's Dance Time! I dance alone to whatever IS
playing. It's a form of existential aerobics, a moving medita-
Dancing All the Dances as Long as I Can
Tango
IS
a recent enthusiasm. It's a complex and
dance, so I'm up to three lessons a week, three nights
out dancing, and I'm off to Buenos Aires for three months
of immersion in tango culture.
The first time I went tango dancing I was too intimIROBERT FULGHUM
dated to get out on the floor. I remembered another time I
had stayed on the sidelines, when the dancing began after a
village wedding on the Greek island of Crete. The fancy
footwork confused me. "Don't make a fool of yourself," I
thought. "Just
Readmg my mind, an older woman dropped out of
I
dance, sat down beside me, and said, "If you join the danc-
BELIEVE IN DANCING.
you will feel foolish. If you do not, you
I believe it is in my nature to dance by virtue of the beat
foolish. So, why not dance?"
my heart, the pulse of my blood, and the music in
And, she said she had a secret for me.
mind. So I dance daily.
;
The seldom-used dining room of
"If vou do not dance, we will know you are a fool. But d'
house is now an
you dance, we will think well of you for trying."
often-used ballroom-an open space with a hardwood
Recalling her wise words, I took up the challenge of
stereo, and a disco balL The CD-changer has six discs
tango.
at the ready: waltz, swing, country, rock-and-roll, salsa, and
A friend asked me if my tango-mania wasn't a little
tango.
ambitious. "Tango? At your age? You must be out of your
Each morning when I walk through the house on
way
to
make coffee, I turn on the music,
mind/"
the "shuffie"
83
82
.,
______
__
.....
.........
i
tih
»
¢
=..
..........
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _• _ _ _ _ __
...:,'"",,,,,:':$
T
HIS
/
I I
BELlEY
On the contrary: It's a deeply pondered decision. My
passion for tango disguises a fearfulness. I fear the shrinkof life that goes with aging. I fear the boredom
comes with not learning and not taking chances. I fear the
dying that goes on inside you when you leave the game of
to wait in the final checkout line.
comes from begin-
sharp, scary pleasure
1 seek
my resources and
on
ning something new-that
all at once.
challenges my mind, my
My goal now is to dance all the dances as long as I can,
and then to sit down contented after the last elegant tango
some sweet night and pass on because there wasn't another
dance left in me.
So, when people say, "Tango? At your
Have
your mmd?" I answer, "No, and I don't intend to,"
ROBERT FULGHUM
Really Need
to
All I
has written seven
Know I Learned in Kindergarten. A native of
he was a Unitarian minister for
pair/ting and philosophy
lives
In
years and
Seattle and Crete.
that could be
84
85
__ :::;;:=::!! \ Z
••"
T
' *&' Y'
..,...
Untold Stories
0/ Kindness
ERNESTO HAlBI
'ollege
if Art, and 1)( lives in upstate New York.
TIME IN
IRAQ SHOWED ME THE truth of my beliefs. I be-
lieve 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
dren, rebuilding
hospitals and schools, and feeding
poor. Not by a government but by individuals, by one man
helping another man.
As a medic, I went to local clinics to inspect conditions
and help when I could. I delivered supplies to schools and
relief centers, and Iraqis who knew us would bring us tea
96
$"
F? _
•
HIS
ter'fews with the e!derry. Greenberger has
2.
97
if
THIS
BELIEVE
and cigarenes. Language was
only barrier
H
ERE S T
II
a friendly
unn $
n:
A I B I
oneness, we can transform wars, intolerance, religious persecution, and political extremism into memory and maybe
waIL
I saw men moved by the death
innocents and was
even folklore.
those same men when they killed those responsible.
On June 24, 2004, insurgents detonated several car bombs
around the city of Mosul, killing over one hundred-no
cops, no Iraqi national guardsmen, no Amencans-aIl1l1-
SERGEANT ERNESTO HAlB! IS
His military service
nocent civilians. Cars were covered in blood as if
been hit with a paint sprayer. My unit fought Zarqawibacked insurgenrs in a firefight that lasted almost eight
a medIC formerl), aSSIgned to the 23rd
Force and ten years
111
the NatIOnal Guad Hal/ii's
Dark, explores his wartime experiences:
hours. Then, people moved quickly to help out-Iraqi civilIans as well as Amencan troops. But it shouldn't take a war
for people to
along.
war-that's not a
I don't justify our reasons for
dier's luxury-and I don't justify what the insurgenrs have
done to the Iraqis. But the passion of all sides-Iraqi,
American, ally,
insurgent-shows
if man can
reet hiS energies to one of acceptance and not inrolerance,
we can bring the zealot, the politician, the soldier, and the
outsider to a place where man is just thar: man.
Many
that I'm cur off from the real world, but I be-
lieve they are the ones missing the truth. For all the death
and destruction reported in the news, there are thousands
stories of kindness and caring that no one ever knows.
I believe that by striv1l1g
98
a world that accepts
99
in the US
Canale
III
All'
the
:
F
po
TillS
BELIEVE
II
So I believe in friendliness and an open ear. For me, it
r
starts with making eye contact when pour coffee and ask my
Do What You Love
customers, "How you doing?" and then listen to their answer.
My job is to take care of customers at the counter in a
Texas diner, but I also believe we're in this world to
take care of each other.
TONY HAWK
I VORY
HARLOW
US AIr force, She
began working as a waitress after a lour of
IS
sludyingfor a
Istration, Harlow lives
In
In
the
degree in business
San AntOniO with her husband and dog) and
poems and nonfICtion
I
BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE PRIDE
in what they
even if it is scorned or misunderstood by the public at large.
r have been a professional skateboarder for twenty-four
years. For much of that time, the activity that paid my rent
and gave me my greatest joy was tagged with many labels.
most of which were ugly. It was a kids' fad, a waste of time.
a dangerous pursuit, a crime.
When 1 was about seventeen, three years after I turned
pro, my high school "careers" teacher scolded me in front
of the entire class about jumping ahead in my workbook.
He told me that I would never make it in the workplace if I
102
IOJ
T
BELIEVE
HIS
To
follow directions explicitly. He said I'd never make a
living as a skateboarder, so
It
Y
HAWK
work. The responses were
what their dads do
seemed to him that my future
liMy dad figures stuff out.
was bleak.
do work."
Even during those dark years, I never stopped
It's true. Skateboarding
skateboard and never stopped progressing as a skater. There
have been many. many times
a maneuver.
only
to master something
IS
proud of what I do. My parents never once questIOned
the practicality behind
come to realize that the
scrape together gas money and regarded dinner at Taco Bdl
to
at it-despite
I hope to pass on
day. Find the thing you
Skateboarding has gained mamstream recognition in re-
and he's really
stereotypes. The pro skaters
r know are responsible members of society. Many
homeowners, world travelers,
neue;.
hairdos
successful entre pre-
tattoos are
ture, even when they raise
them are
and that's
and fa-
children some-
oldest son is an avid skater
alot
for a thirteen-year-old,
used to skate for endorsements, but
now he brushes all
aside. He
enough
skates
me.
You might not make it to
meetmgs.
So here I am, thirty-eight years old, a
same lesson to
pressure on him.
part of our
during
passion, even when I had to
as a . night out.
crowds.
cent years, but It still has
seem like real work, but
I've been frustrated be-
despite the twisted ankles. desoite the mock-
bloody
like,
you love, there
ll1g
IS
much more
are doing
there
or famous.
three. With a lengthy list of responsibilities
ligations. And although I have many Job titles-CEO,
Executive Producer, Senior Consultant, Foundation Chairman, Bad Actor-the one I am most proud of is
sional Skateboarder. It's
one I write on surveys
TONY HAWK
got his first skateboard whm he was mne
years later, iJe turned pro. Hawk aUlobiopraDhv and video
customs torms, even though I often end up in a secondary
been beslsellers, while
security checkpoint.
low-income communities across America.
youngest
preschool
'°4
was recently
105
_hi.
_
rj'i·'
Yo
Y
",r.
M
In
mrr'
A
However, the process of trying on each culture taught
me something. As I struggled to belong, I came to under-
A Musician oj Many Cultures
At that point, I realized
stand what made each one
that I didn't need to
one culture to the exclusion of
I could
longevity of my
Yo-Yo MA
from all three.
heritage, while feeling just as pas-
sionate about the deep artistic traditions of the French and
the American commitment to opportunity and the future.
So, rather than settling on anyone of the cultures in
which I grew up, I now choose to explore many more cul-
I
were
111
elements to love in each. Every day I make
an effort to
toward what I don't understand.
China; and I was brought up mostly
As I
In
said
I
in musIc
that the musIc 1 play,
to
me, doesn't belong to only one
that their culture was best, but I knew they couldn't all be
culture. In recent years, 1 have explored many musical tra-
right. I felt there was an expectation that I would choose
ditions.
many years I
Along the way, 1 have met musicians who share a belief
bounced among the three, trying on each but never being
m the creative power that exists at the mtersection of cul-
to be Chinese or French or American.
comfortable. I hoped I wouldn't have
that meant
J
choose, but
tures. These mUSIcians have generously become my guides
how exactly to .. not
to their tradmons. Thanks to them and their music I have
to
new
1
m
own musIc
:1
1
;j
\1
"1
.,
wan-
ultures: I was
When I was young this was very confusing:
Itll
1 hiS
I
BELIEVE IN THE INFINITE VARIETY OF
grew up
tures and
152
"
153
7
. at:etY;
.
"''''''... ",.
.'IlGllif.::I!. . . . . .'1.1'.'I
i
T
HIS
BELIEVE
II
It is extraordinary the way people, music, and cultures
develop. The paths and experiences that guide them are unpredictable. Shaped by our families, neighborhoods, cul-
Being Content with Myself
tures, and countries, each of us ultimately goes through this
process of incorporating what we learn with who we are
and who we seek to become. As we struggle to find our individual voices, I believe we must look beyond the voice
we've been assigned and find our place among the tones and
KAMAAL MAJEED
timbre of human expression:
Yo-Yo MA created the Silk Road Project In 1998 to explore the cultural traditions
of the countries along the anczent trade route through ASIa.
A cello player since age jour, Ma has won fijteen Grammy Awards. He
lives wIth his jamily In Cambridge, Massachusetts,
"WHY
DON'T YOU 'ACT BLACK'?"
Since my middle school years, I've been asked this question more than any other. It seems to me that too many
people have let society program into their brains what
should be expected of me, a black person, before ever interacting with me. But I believe in being who I am, not who
others want me to be.
On my first day of high school, going into math class,
two of my classmates pointed and laughed at me. I initially
thought my fly was open, or that something was stuck in my
teeth. But as I took my seat, I heard one of the students
i;:l
154
155
THIS
BELIEVE
II
KAMAAL
MAJEED
whisper, "Why is a black person taking honors?" So my fly
I believe in being myself. I believe that I-not any
wasn't open. An honors-level class had simply been joined
stereotype-should define who I am and what actions I
by a student whose skin was an unsettling shade of brown.
take in life. In high school, popularity often depends on
Many people think my clothes should be big enough
for me to live in, or expect me
your willingness to follow trends. And I've been told that it
listen exclusively to "black
doesn't get much easier going into adulthood. But the only
musIc." In seventh grade, a group of my peers fixed their
other option is to sacrifice my individuality for the satisfac-
cold stares on my outfit: cargo shorts and a plain, fitting
tion and approval of others. Sure, this can be appealing,
T-shirt. They called out
since choosing to keep my self-respect intact has made me
to
to
me, "Go get some 'gangsta'
clothes, white boy."
unpopular and disliked at times. with no end to that in
In one of my Spanish classes, as part of a review exercise, the teacher asked me, "( Te gusta mas, la musica de rap
sight. But others' being content with me is not nearly as important as my being content with myself.
o rock?" "Do you like rap music or rock music more?" I
replied,
musica de rock." The look of shock on my
classmates' faces made me feel profoundly alienated.
I am now in my junior year of high school. I still take
KAMAAL MAJEED
is a high school student
In
ltaltham, Massachusetts.
all honors courses. My wardrobe still consists solely of
In addItion to his studies, he works part-time at the local puM!( library,
clothes that are appropriate to my proportions. My musiC
and enjoys studying foreign languages and writing a person'll
library spans from rock to pop to techno, and almost every-
Majeed hopes to pursue a career in journalism.
thing in between. When it comes to choosing my friends, I
am still color-blind. I continue to do my best work in
school in order
to
reach my goals; and yet, when I look in
the mirror, I still see skin of that same shade of brown.
My skin color has done nothing to change my personality, and my personality has done nothing to change my
skin color.
156
157
_____._
... ......
_____________T
HIS
BELIEVe
Ii
forward to these hours. Composing is slow-I wait for
right notes. The hardest thing is to get your soul down on
the page and
It come out on the
side In a way
that works.
God Is God Because He Remembers
Music is not just my most trusted friend. It makes me
come alive, to show strength and passion and to feel useful.
...
Music makes me feel like I'm doing something terribly important. I believe that with music I can
to change the
world around me-if just a little bit.
and pIanist
JOAN TOWER
was born
In
ELIE WIESEL
New York 411d spmt
her youth il1 BolIVia where her father worked as a mirIll1g eJlpineer: Her
works Include
tone poem
the
" Tower teaches at Bard
Uncommon
the
I
REMEMBER
MAY 1944. I
WAS FIFTEEN
thrown into a haunted universe where
and a half. And I was
story of the human
adventure seemed to swing irrevocably between horror
malediction. I remember, I remember because 1 was there
with my father. I was still living
him there. We worked
together. We returned to the camp together. We stayed in the
same block. We slept in the same box. We shared bread and
soup. Never were we so close to one another. We talked a lot
to
other, especially in the evenings, but never of death.
1 believed, I hoped that I would not survive him. Not even
for one day. Without saying it to him, I thought I was the
240
421
.>
THIS
last of our
BELIEVE
II
ELIE
With him, our past would die. With me, our
WIESEL
How can we therefore speak, unless we believe
our
words have meaning, that our words will help others to
The moment the war ended, I believed-we all did-
vent my past from becommg another person's-another
that anyone who survived death must bear witness. Some of
people's-future. Yes, our stories are essential. Essential to
us even believed that they survived in order to become wit-
memory. I believe that the witnesses, especially tne sur-
nesses. nut then I knew deep down that it would be impos-
vivors, have the most important role. They can simply say.
to communicate the entire story. Nobody can. I
personally decided to wait, to see, during ten years, if I
capable to find the proper words, the proper pace,
m the words
the prophet, I was there. What is a witness
if not someone who has a tale to tell and lives
haunting desire-to tell
Only
Without
there
the proper melody, or maybe even the proper silence to de-
culture. Without memory, there would be no
scribe the meffable.
No society. No future.
For in
I believe that whatever we
tradition, as a
all God is
wtttl one
IS
because He remembers.
receive we must share. When we endure an experience,
experience cannot stay with me alone. It must be opened. It
must become an offering. It must be deepened and given
and shared. And of course I am afraid that memories suppressed
all
come back
a fury, which is dangerous to
beings, not only to those
directly were par-
ticipants but to people everywhere, to the world, for everyone. And so, therefore,
memones
Writer, political activist, and Holocaust survivor EUE W1ESEL is the author 0/ more than jorty books concerning Judaism, the Holocaust, and fh(
moral responsibility
0/ all people tofight mtolerance, raClS1n, a11d uljust/(t,
W'iesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Pri<! in 1986,
are discarded,
shamed, somehow they may come back in different ways,
disguised. Perhaps seeking another outlet.
Granted, our task is to inform. But information must
be transformed into knowledge, knowledge into sensitivity,
and sensitivity into commitment.
HZ
&
ile. La;
tI'III'iN'I''-;''''','l
no