海角大神

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2018
March
19
Monday

Monitor Daily Podcast

March 19, 2018
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Mark Sappenfield
Senior global correspondent

This weekend, the war over good governance took the form of a volley of 280-character grenades.

When the Trump administration fired a Federal Bureau of Investigation official, the president tweeted that the agency was 鈥渋n tatters鈥� and the firing was a 鈥済reat day for democracy.鈥� A former head of the Central Intelligence Agency begged to differ, telling the president, 鈥淸Y]ou will not destroy America...America will triumph over you.鈥�

It was an extraordinary bit of social media brinkmanship even for this unique time in political history. President Trump鈥檚 tweets came increasingly near the core tension of his administration: With his voters鈥� blessing, Mr. Trump dearly wants to be America鈥檚 CEO.

The problem is, that鈥檚 not what the Founding Fathers envisioned.

There is a genius to democratic government. It is the means by which societies solve problems. When the gears are jammed, it鈥檚 probably because society鈥檚 gears are jammed 鈥� and unjamming them with a CEO鈥檚 penstroke generally means running roughshod over someone鈥檚 liberties.

Small government? Big government? suggests that鈥檚 irrelevant. Good government is what matters. And in that project, the Founders might suggest, we are the CEOs.

Here are our five stories for the day, looking at whether trade has to create winners and losers, what greatness means to President Vladimir Putin, and how some communities are taking a different approach to gun violence.聽

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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

In Illinois, Democrats face a test of 鈥榖ig tent鈥� values

( 5 min. read )

An antiabortion Democrat? In Chicago 鈥� and across the United States 鈥� Democrats are in the beginning stages of defining their identity in the age of President Trump.聽

By Francine Kiefer , reporting from WASHINGTON
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Christa Case Bryant/海角大神
Glenn Brunkow, a fifth-generation Kansas farmer, checks in on his ewes and their lambs in Wamego, Kan. He and his father farm 2,500 acres of land in northeastern Kansas, including the land their forebears homesteaded in the 1860s. Mr. Brunkow, who sells about half his beef to Asia, is very concerned about President Trump's trade policy, including the recently announced steel tariffs. With beef prices down and grain prices at historic lows, the family has found a profitable niche operation by selling lamb to a local market.

For heartland farmers, Trump support gets snagged on trade, tariffs

( 5 min. read )

From the vantage point of Midwestern farmers, President Trump's steel tariff looks as if he's choosing manufacturing over agriculture. But it might not need to be an either/or choice.聽

By Christa Case Bryant , reporting from Wamego, Kan., and Lincoln, Neb.
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Patterns

Tracing global connections
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
A man holds a placard depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin during a preelection rally and concert at Manezhnaya Square in Moscow this month that also marked the fourth anniversary of Russia's annexation of the Crimea region.

Putin won his mandate. Can he deliver on promise of restored glory?

( 4 min. read )

President Vladimir Putin's reelection probably won't change the fact that Russia remains light-years behind the West economically. But he will at least make sure Russia is heard and respected.

By Ned Temko , reporting from London
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How treating gun violence as public-health issue could help children

( 6 min. read )

Shootings are just one part of how gun violence affects the lives of young people in America. Helping them, many experts say, begins with addressing the fear the bullets leave behind.聽

By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo
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Courtesy of Natalie Muallem
Classically trained violinist Daniel Hoffman set out to learn how to play different violin styles from around the world in one week 鈥� and to play a concert at the end of that week. His new documentary on the project is called 'Otherwise, It鈥檚 Just Firewood.'

An Irish fiddler in five days? How 鈥榤usical extreme sports鈥� connects.

( 5 min. read )

If music is the universal language, it sure has a lot of dialects, and the violin speaks most. In this case, with an Irish lilt.聽

By Dina Kraft , reporting from TEL AVIV
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The Monitor's View
Reuters
People wait outside the chapel of Gonville and Caius College at The University of Cambridge to sign a book of condolence following the death of Professor Stephen Hawking, in Cambridge, Britain, March 14.

The light that Stephen Hawking leaves behind

( 2 min. read )

Nearly a week after his death, tributes for Stephen Hawking keep showing up in remote parts of the globe. The British scientist is praised for shedding light on black holes. He is admired for not allowing a physical disability to hinder his mental brilliance. Yet in a sign of the state of humanity, he is also being held up as an icon for humble and intense curiosity, not just for the truth about the physical universe but for universal truths.

In too many countries, leaders have 鈥渨eaponized鈥� false information to exert power, either at home or in other nations. This is creating a backlash in favor of truth-telling, a movement that needs heroes like Dr. Hawking who can inspire others to seek understanding.

Are more people demanding credible facts?

In 2017, a Texas-based data company called Global Language Monitor found 鈥渢ruth鈥� to be the 鈥渨ord of the year鈥� among English-speakers. A debate over the nature of truth 鈥渋s currently quite the rage,鈥� the company鈥檚 analysis found. (Two runner-up words were 鈥渘arrative鈥� and 鈥減ost-truth.鈥�)

And in a January report about 鈥渢ruth decay鈥� in American civil discourse, the RAND Corp. found the erosion of trust in key institutions has left 鈥減eople searching for new sources of credible and objective information.鈥�

In countries with a free press, journalists have rallied to fact-check comments by politicians. Harvard University now offers a free one-hour online course to help people 鈥渂etter distinguish good information from bad鈥� in hopes they will not 鈥渟hare the bad.鈥� Tech giants such as Facebook are being forced to install truth filters in their online platforms. A report this month for the European Commission charges that the online sites 鈥渁re becoming increasingly important as both enablers and gatekeepers of information.鈥� They should reveal how their algorithms select news items, the report stated.

Many nations have come to see honest information as a strategic asset. 鈥淭ruth matters,鈥� says Mike Pompeo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency and nominee to be secretary of State. 鈥淩elying on Twitter feeds and news reports will prove wholly insufficient when policymakers have to make some of the most difficult decisions they face.鈥�

Giants of scientific discovery such as Hawking have long been role models for seeking truth beyond their profession. 鈥淚n recent years I realized that [Hawking] has become a symbol for mankind,鈥� says physicist Bobby Acharya. 鈥淧eople looked to him for reason and truth.鈥�

The tributes rolling in for the man are really tributes to a widespread desire for light over darkness, for truth over all the 鈥渂lack holes鈥� of fake news or misinformation campaigns.

By The Monitor's Editorial Board
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A 海角大神 Science Perspective

About this feature

Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication 鈥� in its various forms 鈥� is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church 鈥� The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston 鈥� whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.

Thinking differently about politicians

( 4 min. read )

Today鈥檚 contributor shares how cynicism about a local election lifted as she considered what it means to follow the Bible鈥檚 counsel to 鈥渓ove one another,鈥� even in the face of a polarizing public figure.

By Rosalie E. Dunbar
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A message of love

Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
The Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft for the next International Space Station crew was transported by rail March 19 from an assembling hangar to the launchpad ahead of its upcoming launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Astronauts Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold of the US and Oleg Artemyev of Russia are members of the scheduled crew.
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( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us today. Tomorrow, staff writer Jessica Mendoza will take a look at the drive to make video games the spectator sport of the future. It鈥檚 NFL meets Xbox. Please come back and check it out.聽

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2018
March
19
Monday

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