What Does the World Think?

For a couple of decades I subscribed to a publication that was initially called "Atlas" and then the "World Press Review" (or maybe it was the other way around, although I think not.) This was a magazine that collected articles from various publications--left, right, and center--from around the world, translated them, and provided them without comment for readers in the United States.

Eventually the magazine went out of business because few Americans seem to care much about what anyone else on the planet thinks about anything. During the years I subscribed, there were letters from readers who called the magazine unAmerican because of the articles it printed. Clearly, these readers simply didn't comprehend the mission, which was to inform those of us who live in the United States that there is a much larger world outside our borders, that we might not always do what is best for the planet, that sometimes this annoys those who live elsewhere, and that maybe it would be worthwhile to consider their opinions. If we're really trying to be a "beacon to for the world", it might not be a bad idea to see what the world thinks.

But there is good news! When I thought about the publication recently, I did a Google search to see if anyone else remembered it. What I found is that it still exists as an online publication! http://www.worldpress.org/

There's a Wikipedia article about WPR here. Somehow I missed the news, in 2004, when WPR discontinued its print version, that it would continue on-line.

For those interested in a view that goes beyond their own back yard, spend a little time with the World Press Review.