All The Monitor's View
How to debate Obama's gun proposalsThis week, President Obama gives his post-Newtown proposals on gun regulations. But first, Washington must adjust the way it debates guns.
Three years since Haiti earthquake: Learning the art of listeningThe third anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake brings sober lessons for aid groups. First lesson: Listen more to locals.
Home truths in new mortgage rulesNew regulations on home mortgages from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will raise ethical standards and lower risks. But they don't reduce government incentives that might create another housing bubble.
Cry for food in Syria may be opening for peaceThe UN warns it cannot feed some 1 million displaced Syrians, many in war zones with few bread supplies. A global response to this humanitarian crisis might help diffuse differences over political solutions.
With Hagel at Defense, what would be America's 'special role'?America's historic identity as a people with a universal mission faces a new era in Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary. Israel and even military cuts aren't the core issues. America's 'special role' is.
China censorship protest as 'living in truth'Protests erupt following a strike by journalists at a Chinese newspaper whose editorial on free speech was censored. Unlike most other protests in China, this one is about living in the truth.
In India rape protests, another public outbreak of moral conscienceProtests in India over a woman's rape and later death fit a new pattern of spontaneous, Internet-driven moral shock over a galling incident. From Tunisia to Russia to India, better-connected and urban people can more easily band together when their conscience is struck.
Taking choice out of personal healthAs more governments move to restrict personal choices as a way to cut costs, especially in health care, they can easily impinge on both liberty and alternative ideas about health.
Who forced a 'fiscal cliff' deal? Try foreign investors.Washington is now all too aware that foreign creditors and investors will punish it for any macroeconomic mismanagement. American competitiveness was at stake in the fiscal cliff negotiations.
For journalists and Internet, 2013 must not repeat 2012Record assaults on journalists in 2012 and official moves to censor the Internet show how much authoritarian regimes fear the truth. Perhaps in 2013, truth-tellers will start to win.
India gang rape: why women are needed as justice officialsMass protests in India after a vicious gang rape of a female student help put a spotlight on countries that need to have more women police and judges. Antirape laws are not enough.
Egypt's big lesson in democracyEgypt adopted a postrevolutionary constitution this week. But the Arab nation has only begun to understand that democracy isn't only majority rule.
Homes for the homeless: a smart investment in dignityDespite a recent rise in poverty, homelessness is down. One reason? Providing a residence for the homeless creates enough self-respect for them to deal with underlying issues.
Take steroids out of college footballAn in-depth investigation shows that despite avowals to the contrary, college football programs are rife with the use of illegal steroids. A tougher stand is needed.
The NRA call for armed guards in schoolsThe NRA's call for gun-carrying guards in schools shows it joins with other Americans in caring even more about children after the Sandy Hook shootings. But history also shows violence declines when children are taught how to counter violence by means other than violence 鈥� such as caring for others.
Kids and digital media: removing the fearsReports of Adam Lanza's war-game obsession and the new FTC rules on children's online privacy help refocus concerns on the effects of digital media on children. But parental anxiety can be channeled toward solutions.
Christmas in Newtown: restoring childlike innocenceA big Christmas tree in Newtown, Conn., has become a memorial site for the Sandy Hook children killed at their elementary school. Many faiths use a Christmas-like embrace of an innocent child to help them in troubled times and restore the promise of purity.
What Kerry, Hagel would bring to Obama diplomacyReports of Sen. John Kerry becoming Secretary of State, and Republican Chuck Hagel being tapped for Defense, hint at a new attempt to use 'soft power' in Obama's second term. But will it work?
A bridge for action after Sandy Hook shootingsAmericans were united over the weekend on the need for solutions to mass shootings like that at Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Conn. Now they must also deal with their respective fears over the different solutions being proposed.
Newtown shootings: What to say to ourselvesThe Newtown shooting of 20 children and 7 adults may be the strongest reminder that each individual must find ways to help end these kinds of mass slaughter.
