08.16.06
This I Believe: Eleventh Post (Faith)
This may have been my favorite group of essays so far. Pius Kamau spoke beautifully of the difficulty in treating a teeage white supremicest who would not allow Kamau to even touch him. More than just the simple medical difficulties, this brought up problems, questons, reactions. The essay was wonderful. Helen Keller spoke of faith and the struggles and difficulties to maintain it. She never mentions questioning because of her own difficulties and loss, only upon hearing those of others. It’s quite remarkable.
Two of the essays in this bunch made particular impacts on me. Those by Ruth Kamps and Penn Jillette. I’m not sure that I can explain why exactly Kamps’ essay spoke to me so much except to say that perhaps it has come the closest to saying what I myself believe (although not quite). It is spoken simply, eloquently and quite beautifully. Jillette’s essay may be one of the best in the book for several reasons. It’s wonderfully written and flows beautifully. It must have sounded fantastic spoken aloud (I intend to see if it’s on the CD that came enclosed with the book as soon as I can). It is also argued well, something few of the others even try to do and isn’t really necessary (but is nice all the same). I don’t necessarily “agree” with everything he says (although I don’t, strictly speaking, disagree with a lot of it either), but he says them in ways that certainly do make me think about old questions again. That’s really the thing - it makes you think. That’s what makes it brilliant. And it’s funny too, which is always good.
This book is difficult because it’s hard to read so many serious, soul-searching pieces back-to-back. In many ways it makes them more interesting because you can see how they overlap and vary, but it also makes them more difficult to digest and sometimes makes it more difficult for them to stand out from one another. It does definitely make me want to listen to this show on NPR!