Monday, May 07, 2007

This I Believe

True confession--I am an NPR junkie. I have 3 presets on my kitchen and car radios--NPR, a decent mix rock music station, and the AM station that carries Red Sox games. They say the average American watches 4 hours of TV a day. I don't watch that much TV in several weeks, but I could listen to NPR for those same hours.

Every monday, our local station (WBUR) airs essays from the "This I Believe" project, resurrected from the 1950s program of the same name spearheaded by Edward R. Murrow.

The producer (Dan Gediman) and the series host (Jay Allison) describe it this way:
"This I Believe is a national media project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives."


It is quite simply 3 essential minutes each monday in my life.

The original 1950s series began with famous people--celebrities, scientists, politicians, but then moved to include the beliefs of ordinary people. The current series follows in that spirit.

I was so moved by today's essay--the core beliefs of a high school student from a town nearby--that I feel I must share the link. You can read and/or listen to Kamaal Majeed's essay, "Being Content with Myself" here.

That a young man such as Mr. Majeed is part of our world gives me hope for the future.

Tonight during dinner, I will replay this essay for my 2 boys, ages 11 and 13. They are both struggling to take pride in their individuality while all around them, they are given the message that they are losers, nerds, the unpopular kids.

They know in their hearts that who they are is who they want to be, but it gets hard to honor that wise internal voice when the external messages are so virulent.

Listen to Mr. Majeed.

I promise--it'll make your day.

1 comment:

  1. Dear Mrs. Cohen, I'm flattered to see that you've dedicated an entire blog to me and my This I Believe essay! I never thought that the essay would affect people's lives so profoundly, especially those of complete strangers to me. I'm so glad that your kids heard it, too. Take care, and thanks for your support. - Kamaal Majeed

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