A New View

"When you write a history paper, ask yourself,
'What did these people think they were doing?' "
--advice from a history professor

God help me, I have subscribed to Bill Buckley's National Review.

What happened was, in my pursuit of education about public life (journalism & politics, I mean, not Brittney, Inc.) in America,
I decided to take up Gary's recommendation to read a wide range of periodicals, from the Nation to the National Review.

I've always been primarily a book reader. The only magazines that excited me were Ranger Rick, when I was nine and, more recently, The Economist. So I'm starting almost from scratch.
Luckily, the public library bookstore sells donated recent magazines for 25 cents. Before Christmas, I bought a pile and I've been reading my way through these:

Harvard Divinity Review
Reason (Libertarian)
Harpers
New Republic
Yes!
American Scholar (gift subscription from Barrett)

I was pleased to see that I've been paying more attention to public discourse in America than I thought:
most of the articles cover topics I'm familiar with, in voices I'm used to.

Then I picked up the National Review and... wow! Who are these people?
Buckley's column made me laugh out loud at one thing and then get really steamed at another.
As I read the magazine further, I didn't know where I was or what was coming at me.

That's the one I subscribed to.