While browsing through Harper’s “Weekly Review” for January 29 (I read it for the generous Latin and French phrases sprinkled through its prose like so much marjoram), I came across this interesting tidbit: “Al Gore gave a speech at a conference organized by the magazine India Today but only on the condition that no journalists attend.” Clearly, Al is embarrassed by his unnatural love for…what? Lentils? Saag…?

At any rate, in addition to perusing the online Harper’s, I’m also a long-time subscriber (I’m willing to pay for the generous Latin and French phrases seasoning its prose like so much finely-ground coriander). And so in the January print edition I happened across (all a-titter, rest assured) an editorial reprinted from the October “World Coin Views” section of World Coin News, a portion of which I’ll share with you now:

Word of the September 11 terrorist attacks arrived in this office just hours before this issue went to press. Whatever chain of events will have begun by the time you read this, one thing is clear: the editorial mission of this hobby paper has always been promoting greater understanding between cultures and a general sharing of our common numismatic interests and pursuits.

[…]We can only extend our condolences to the families of all the victims of the attacks, and we hope the guilty parties will be identified and punished. But, in a larger sense, we will all be victims. Will each of us as coin collectors be as receptive to our counterparts around the world as we were before this happened? We hope in time that we will be able to say yes to this question, because if we cannot then the terrorists will have won…[my emphasis]

Could the Onion have done a better job with this? The self-importance! C’est la vie! But wait, there’s more!

People at every time in history have faced war, disasters, and privation. Yet they managed to carry on the best they could and gave us the opportunities that we have today. There is no more powerful communicator of continuity than seeing the regular coin issues, year after year. [again, my emphasis]

Well, regular coin issuances along with, like, sunrises and extended families, maybe…

Combine these things with a nice, ferocious counterstrike and you’ve got yourself a legitimate “communicator” of American “continuity,” that’s for sure…