another gem in my inbox

...this one comes from the writer's almanac, a garrison keillor newsletter sent each day.

"Were we to choose our leaders on the basis of their reading experience and not their political programs, there would be much less grief on earth. I believe ... that for someone who has read a lot of Dickens to shoot his like in the name of an idea is harder than for someone who has read no Dickens."

joseph brodsky