Hi there,

We would like to try a bit of “crowd sourcing” – collaborative journalism with the help of you, our readers. Here’s the idea. We recently ran a profile of P.D. James, the illustrious British crime writer, in our blog about euthanasia, Careful. (She may be a dab hand at planning murders, but she opposes euthanasia.) It was based upon an interview in the Guardian in which she was asked, “what’s the best thing about being a nonagenarian?” (That’s someone over 90, by the way.)

That is the sort of question which would flummox most people and even P.D. James was silent for a few moments. But it was an intriguing question. So here’s our proposal. Are you a nonagenarian? Do you know a nonagenarian? Would you – or they -- like to tell the world what is the best thing about being 90+?

We think it would be a great contribution to more respect for the growing proportion of elderly in our society. I am sure that there will be some interesting responses.

Now for this week’s articles. Justin Dyer expresses some scepticism about sport as a school of virtue. After extensive consultation, the staff of MercatorNet has put together a list of hefty books for holiday reading. Zac Alstin tries to unpack the notion of self-reliance. And I have commented on the tragic case of a British quadriplegic who wants euthanasia.

Cheers,

Michael Cook,
Editor,
MercatorNet