海角大神

Let鈥檚 just say I can understand the people in Francine Kiefer鈥檚 cover story this week.

Our congressional writer for the past five years, Francine is ready for a new challenge, so she鈥檚 headed to Southern California as our West Coast writer. Essentially, she and staff writer Jessica Mendoza, who was based in Los Angeles, are swapping posts.聽

In this week鈥檚 magazine, Francine reflects on her five years inside the Capitol and offers insight, humor, and a detailed look at why in the name of Millard Fillmore she agreed to go there in the first place.

In case you were not aware, Congress is not the most beloved institution at this moment. Polls show that public opinion is only marginally better than the surface of the moon 鈥� think craters. So it is not surprising that many people asked her 鈥淗ow can you stand it?鈥�

That鈥檚 actually a question the Monitor and other media can ask ourselves daily. How can we stand it?

If you were to come up with a list of qualities that the Monitor is constantly seeking 鈥� fellowship, humanity, innovative thinking, constructive collaboration, to name a few 鈥� those would not describe the current portrait of Washington. At a time when so much of politics is calculated specifically to enrage and antagonize, what is the role of a publication created specifically to enlighten and uplift?

You can begin with Francine鈥檚 answer: You seek out the humanity. Every legislator has a story, and that story helps explain why they see the world the way they do.

But the larger answer might lie in another question: How can we be a part of the solution? There鈥檚 no one answer. Many media outlets try to hold politicians to account with fact checks and expos茅s, and those are essential tasks of a free press. Others are unabashed partisans, advocating for causes they see as just, and that too can be thought provoking.

But my answer comes in the upcoming June 3 issue of the Weekly. There you will read an explainer about why the abortion debate includes so much misunderstanding. The facts and data are important, but perhaps more so is the feel of the piece. It genuinely treats all with dignity. It seeks out the highest ideals on both sides. It embraces the ambiguity of there being no single right answer and encourages the reader to think independently.

Facts are essential. They are the foundation of responsible journalism. But in an era of fake news, they鈥檙e not enough. If I don鈥檛 like your facts, I can find my own.聽

What touches hearts and opens minds is the tone and spirit of an article. Genuine fairness and goodwill are hard to fake, and they are extraordinarily powerful.

The Monitor can help by holding up a mirror 鈥� showing what politics says about our efforts to become more just, humane, and innovative as a nation and how we鈥檙e wrestling with those tough choices. I鈥檇 love to hear your thoughts and how you think we鈥檙e doing. Please write me.