No, say it isn't so - that the Reader's Digest has filed for bankruptcy. This
little magazine has been one of my favorite magazines of all times. I always
found something in it which I wanted to tear out and keep. I think by now if
I had done so, I would have a small mountain or at least a tiny hill of articles.
I have subscribed to a lot of magazines in the past including Mother Jones,
Ode, U.S. News & Report, Family Circle, Ladies Home Journal, E Magazine
and others and though, while all have something to commend them, I would
place the Reader's Digest at the very tippy top of my favorites.
Just today I pulled out the January '09 Digest and on it's cover I had affixed
a memo listing the articles which I thought deserved a second read: 'The
Seeker - starting an orphanage in Nepal', 'Changes of heart - troubled teens
caring for unwanted dogs', and 'Northern Exposure- swimming the world's
coldest waters.'
One I hadn't even listed and now find very providential is titled: 'Memo to the
President.' I think reading it at the beginning of President Obama's term in
office would not have been as meaningful to me as it is now. Maybe President
Obama read this article too and maybe he was trying to do so much in a short
time because of it. However, I am only conjecturing. This article began by
saying to the newly elected president: ''Congratulations on your historic
victory. Now you --and we--have work to do. We asked 18 Statesmen and
women spanning the political spectrum to give you their best advice on the
most pressing issues we face. Their answers offer wisdom and counsel to
you--and, by extension, to us all."
Here is their advice in a nutshell. To read their full text requires going to
January '09 Reader's Digest.
1. David M. Abshire - president of the Center for the Study of the Presidency:
TALK BUT ALSO LISTEN. (Timeless and worthwhile advice.)
2. Karl Rove -former top White House aide: ENCOURAGE DEBATE.
3. Anne-Marie Slaughter - dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and
international Affairs at Princeton University: REMIND US WHAT IT TAKES
TO BE GREAT.
4. The Reverend Billy Graham: ACT JUSTLY AND WALK HUMBLY. (No one
can go wrong following this advice.)
5. Madeleine Allbright- former Sec. of State: RESTATE THE CASE FOR U.S.
LEADERSHIP ABROAD.
6. Bernard-Henri Levy - French philosopher and writer: HONOR AN AMERICAN
HERO. (I submit that someone should publish a book on our heroes. If not been done already, I believe it may require more than one book on this worthwhile subject.)
7. Richard H. Carmona, MD - former U.S. surgeon general: INVEST IN THE
NATION'S HEALTH. (He's giving it a yeoman's effort. I'm surprised at the
negative voices.)
8. Robert D. Hormats - former assistant secretary of state and current vice
chairman of Goldman Sachs (international): STOP THE CYCLE OF DEBT.
(Didn't we bail out Goldman Sachs? If so - very strange counsel.)
9. Jonathan Rauch - guest scholar at the Brookings Institution - BE LIKE IKE.
10. Helene D. Gayle, MD, -president and CEO of Care USA.: FIGHT EXTREME
POVERTY. (A monumental task though a very worthy one.)
11. Michael D. McCurry - former White House press secretary: REMAKE THE
BULLY PULPIT.
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