Utne Reader

Finally. I fully agree that we should outlaw forms of self-expression--especially writing--for use except by those who wield the finest pen and keenest insight, which shall be determined by a committee consisting of authors who have sold at least 1,000,000 books. Let Dean Koontz and John Grisham be the voice of reason for all of the thoughtless!

Adam--I agree in spirit, but Louise Erdrich, Ann Pancake, Susan Brind Morrow, Jack Gilbert, Wendell Barry, W.S. Merwin and the likes MUST be in on the decision too. These writers truly wield the finest pen, word for word, line for line. Numbers often mean good marketing, that's all. Small press writers are arguably our very best writers.

i teach middle school. boys read it, too. lots of them.

It won't, because Wal-Mart will destroy the manufacturers, just like they did the Huffy Bike co. Small business is dying in America, and Wal-Mart is largely to blame.

Hey ELodie, here is Utne on Facebook!....Good article for you too, Scott.

well Carol, that's true about Wal-mart (read the Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman.), Don't ever get into bed with them because you'll be sorry...but oddly enough, Wal-Mart has a very small carbon footprint. go figure.

?????????

It is what it is. Nobody may ever know. Except the perpetrator. And when a lawyer gets hold of him, there's something called attorney client privacy. So nobody will ever know what sparked it!

How are soldiers supposed to receive quality mental health care if their psychiatrists are so involved in their own personal traumas?

I'm kind of obsessed with idea of "holy fools" - they may be the wisest people out there.

"Now Mercury endue thee with leasing, for thou speakest well of fools!" - Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
I.v

Better the innocent fool, I say. The deceptive and predatory nature of human games is ever so taxing. Those who at least attempt to exist outside the game suffer far less, in my experience.

I guess this will make me sound like an old lady ... which I'm rapidly becoming ... but I hate the idea of sending young people to dangerous areas. Yet if they want to go, and they're willing to take the risk, how can we say no? Isn't that what "growing up" is all about?

I don't mind, if it is for a good, true cuase. Not a lie.

Good, cuz I read that for fun when I was 19...