Thursday, September 27, 2001

Publisher's Note ~ I Believe

Apologies for the garbled message you received Friday. We've worked out the snafu with our provider. Here is the newsletter again for your reading pleasure.

Amidst a city of devastation, physically and emotionally, there are pockets of inspiration and beauty. Thursday night I walked past Rockefeller Center and was struck by the stillness, calm and magnificence surrounding this historic midtown location. The air was soft, temperate, sweet. The Rene Chambellan-designed fountains of bronze fish being ridden by either a mermaid or merman spouted a steady stream of water into shallow pools in the Channel Gardens. They stilled the nerves and soothed the senses aurally and visually. At the other end, Rockefeller Plaza was glittering in the reflection of the pastel-lit waterfall fountain with Prometheus. We were encircled in a copse of at least a hundred American flags that gently swayed in the occasional breeze. Awash in the peacefulness of the setting, I read John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s credo, which felt even more dear, more patriotic, more appropriate, gentle and true than perhaps when he wrote it over fifty years ago. I felt it so beautiful that I've included it in its entirety:

"I BELIEVE IN THE SUPREME WORTH OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND IN HIS RIGHT TO LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

I Believe
That every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession a duty

I Believe
That the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master

I Believe
In the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living

I Believe
That thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs

I Believe
That truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order

I Believe
In the sacredness of a promise, that a man's word should be as good as his bond; that character- not wealth or power or position- is of supreme worth

I Believe
That the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free

I Believe
In an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individual's highest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with his will

I Believe
That love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate: that right can and will triumph over might" - John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

I also felt this quote was particularly apt for New York during this time: "New York is not a completed city. … It is a city in the process of becoming. Today it belongs to the world. Without anyone expecting it, it has become the jewel in the crown of universal cities. … New York is a great diamond, hard and dry, sparkling, triumphant!" -Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret), 1947