The former U.S. Secretary of State and four-star General Colin Powell is the child of immigrants from Jamaica. In the This I Believe In project, he talks about the America he believes in. Here is an excerpt:
Last year I met with a group of Brazilian exchange students who had spent a few weeks in America. I asked them to tell me about their experience here. One young girl told me about the night the 12 students went to a fast food restaurant in Chicago. They ate and then realized they did not have enough money to pay the bill. They were way short. Frightened, they finally told the waitress of their problem. She went away and she came back in a little while saying, “I talked to the manager and he said, ‘It’s ok.’” The students were still concerned because they thought the waitress might have to pay for it out of her salary. She smiled and she said, “No, the manager said he is glad you are here in the United States. He hopes you are having a good time, he hopes you are learning all about us. He said it’s on him.”
It is a story that those young Brazilian kids have told over and over about America. That’s the America I believe in, that’s the America the world wants to believe in.
You can listen to the whole essay read by General Powell at the NPR’s website.
