Dear Mother: June/July 2009

I was a reader of M.E.N. for more than twenty years until the mid nineties. Yesterday I picked my first issue since then and was really surprised when I started reading. What has happened to the Mother that took time to teach rural people how to exist on the basics of life using their ingenuity and sweat. You used to offer articles of the DIY nature that dealt with everyday life, and were focused on helping folks deal with the environment in a conservative and constructive manner.
What I have seen in this issue is focused on "green" living with political overtones. In a time when most of America is suffering from an ecomomic crunch, I would thought that the old style Mother would have been a very welcome and helpful part of the average individuals life.
Please excuse the attitude, I am just in shock and would really like to see a return to the old values that Mother Earth News was famous for. (Do I really need to see ads for $4-8,000 lawnmowers, or how to use goats and fryers for lawn control)

Thank you for listening,
Mike

I've been reading Mother since the first issue, which I still retain somewhere.
There was a period years ago, following a change of ownership, that the quality of the magazine was greatly diminished in an attempt to be hip.
I'm very happy that Mother has returned to her roots, which are essentially sustainability and living a higher quality life.
Though I love reading about growing better tomatoes etc., it's also imperative that we discuss issues such as population, pollution, plant patents, and climate change. These issues and other "touchy" subjects may be unpleasant to think about, let alone discuss, but we must have an open dialogue in which we might arrive at informed conclusions.
These issues are at the forefront of our ability to live the lifestyle that I believe, the majority of Mother's readers hope to achieve. It is after all, right in the name; "Mother Earth News".
It is disappointing to read of subscribers canceling their subscription due to subjects they would rather avoid. Please don't allow yourselves to be deterred
in your attempts to inform us on issues that will effect our future. Trust that most readers understand that what has been lacking, and has brought us into environmental crisis, is intelligent dialogue.
This reader is offering his support by converting my subscription to automatic renewal. I hope that similarly minded readers will respond in like manner.