During the 1950’s, American radio legend and journalist Edward R. Murrow hosted “This I Believe“, a radio program which invited people, ordinary and extraordinary, to share with listeners their core beliefs and values through short essays. Murrow’s hope was “to point to the common meeting grounds of beliefs, which is the essence of brotherhood and the floor of our civilization.”

National Public Radio here in the U.S. has revived Murrow’s program.

Series host Jay Allison describes the purpose behind this new series:

“As in the 1950s, this is a time when belief is dividing the nation and the world. We are not listening well, not understanding each other — we are simply disagreeing, or worse. Working in broadcast communication, there’s a responsibility to change that, to cross borders, to encourage some empathy. That possibility is what inspires me about this series.”

The goal isn’t to gain consensus or agreement about these beliefs; rather it is “to encourage people to begin the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from their own.”

Earlier this week “This I Believe” aired a moving essay read out loud by its author University of Arkansas law professor Michael Mullane.

In what does Mullane believe? That fundamental cornerstone of civil society, the rule of law. You can read his essay here.

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