08.23.06
This I Believe: Seventeenth Post (Monkeys!)
Deirdre Sullivan’s essay about always going to the funeral was funny and touching while I was sure Andrew Sullivan’s piece was part of an election campaign of some sort (it appears to not have been, but it sure as hell sounded like one). Wallace Stegner’s essay was great. It talked about faith and religion. He discussed how he believes many things in common with many religions, but distrusts religions. He was quite eloquent and interesting. Gloria Steinem’s essay on children and the ‘nature vs. nurture’ debate was fascinating. She discussed how people always want it to be one or the other when it’s really probably somewhere in between. She says that children are born wanting things to be fair. She suggests that our methods often create what we believe is there, even if it wasn’t. It’s a wonderful essay. That passion with some research behind it would be incredible. The final essay in this group was about feeding monkeys. Harold Taw believes that his family prospers because he has fed a monkey every year on his birthday! It was cute and funny. I can’t imagine trying to find a monkey to feed every year in the United States of America!