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Starting from the premise that each human being has
greatness of character latent within him or her, The World & I
magazine each month searches out people who have cultivated such
personal character and brought it to powerful fruition. Almost always,
we find that such people live lives that benefit humankind in notable
and often touching ways.
In our monthly feature called "People in the News," we
present an interview-based personality
profile, chock full of quotes,
focusing on an individual's ideals, principles, vision, goals,
inspiration, and motivation. Each article also tries to show how a
person's life achievements can be rooted in influences from his or her
family, friends, and teachers.
The profiles show that great character is made, not
born. They suggest that each individual brings to bear on his or her
life the formative forces of perseverance, hope, compassion, and
creativity. In so doing, adversity is surmounted, circumstances
dominated, and personal potential caused to flower.
Moreover, "People in the News" profiles show that
great character often results in great public recognition -- but that
just as often it does not. A person of character may bask in the
limelight, surrounded by enormous popular acclaim, or he or she may
labor lifelong in the shadows, hailed only by those whose lives they
immediately touch.
Through these articles, we try to give our readers
hope that they can duplicate the successes of the articles' subjects.
We've done such pieces on newsmakers as diverse as feminist and
university professor Betty Friedan and actor and National Rifle
Association figure Charlton Heston; also pioneering black civil rights
lawyer Dovey Roundtree and the Rev. Freddie Garcia, who runs a San
Antonio, Texas, drug rehabilitation house. |