And now, This I Believe, a series of living philosophies presented in the hope they may help to strengthen and enrich your life. Here is Edward R. Murrow.

This I Believe. Mrs. Melanie Kreuzer is a member-at-large of the Common Council in Syracuse, New York. However, her active participation in community affairs goes back farther than this elected public office. Among other things, she has been a board member of the Community Chest, the Red Cross and the Corinthian Foundation in Syracuse, New York. With all her outside duties, the core of her activities are centered at home with her husband and teenage son. Here now the beliefs of Mrs. Melanie Kreuzer.

As I attempt to tell you how I live my belief day by day, I do it in genuine humility. No one realizes more than I my own faults and shortcomings. I hope the day will never come when I fail to face up to my own limitations. Then, only, may I continue to overcome them. I find myself constantly trying to do this, and I’m grateful I have had this much time. I realize I shall need much more, God willing.

I believe God has placed each one of use here on Earth for a purpose. No matter what part any of us is destined to play in his design of life, there are responsibilities and obligations which we must fulfill.

I am a mother. My foremost duty is to my family. My husband and I are partners in a sacred trust to instill into our son’s life the love for God. We must use every ability we have. To make our home a place where devotion, understanding, and happiness means security. We must provide a home where spiritual values are so deeply rooted, that he will be prepared to meet the challenges that will come to him, as they must to all men. This trust of ours is far above worldly fortune and social position. It is the molding of a child into a man in terms of mankind. Like all other parents, we pray that we shall be able to say, “We have done our best; please guide him so that no matter what he may choose to do, or where he may be, he will be a good person.” And I use the word “good” in its truest sense.

I believe, too, that each of us has an obligation to his fellow man. As a citizen of a country built on the principle that the individual receives his rights from God and not the State, I am grateful for the blessings I enjoy. I owe the best I can give in return. Therefore, I must carry my share and make community service a real part of my life. At the present time, it is indeed a very great part of my life, since I am serving as a member of the Common Council. In this position, I feel the obligation to study and analyze each problem thoroughly and completely. I must evaluate and understand all points of view. The complexities and confusion which arise require straight, clear thinking.

After this, I trust I shall arrive at just and intelligent decisions based upon facts. And those decisions are my responsibility alone. I come up against the stark truth that my decisions affect the lives of my fellow citizens.

As always, I seek the spiritual guidance that has never failed, and so I pray. I pray fervently that my action will be fair and in the best interests of all the people. I pray that as a person and as a public official, whatever I do will never reflect to the detriment of a single human being. I pray I may live each day as God wills. I have still so much to do, and tomorrow is very precious. This I believe.

That was Mrs. Melanie Kreuzer, a wife, mother and public servant in Syracuse, New York.