海角大神

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2019
May
14
Tuesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

May 14, 2019
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Peter Ford
International News editor

Two months to the day after a gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern comes to Paris to launch what she is presenting as the 鈥淐hristchurch Call.鈥�

There was something particularly horrific about the March massacre: The alleged murderer livestreamed his atrocity on the internet so it would go viral. The Christchurch Call, named for the city where the massacre was perpetrated, is aimed at eliminating such violent extremist content from spreading online.

Ms. Ardern is hoping to persuade governments to pass laws banning objectionable material, and she wants the big tech companies 鈥� such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google 鈥� to tweak their algorithms to direct users away from extremist and terrorist material.

In some parts of the world, that rings free speech alarm bells, and the United States administration, for example, is not expected to sign on. But Ms. Ardern鈥檚 authority and credibility on this issue are grounded in her displays of good faith.

She seized the world鈥檚 attention, and won widespread respect, with the way she expressed her nation鈥檚 grief after the massacre and consoled its victims and their families. Her humanity gave extra force to her condemnation of the atrocity.

Now, she is well placed to take the lead on the delicate issue of internet restrictions precisely because of her reputation for sincerity.

The fact that the massacre happened in New Zealand, she said in a video explaining the Christchurch Call, means 鈥渨e have a reluctant duty of care鈥� in the matter, 鈥渁 responsibility that we have now found ourselves holding.鈥�

Now for our five stories of the day, including the Monitor鈥檚 first foray into stop motion animation.

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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Dean Wilson, who has used heroin since his teens, says the overdose crisis has hit Vancouver鈥檚 Downtown Eastside hard, but most of the men dying come from outside the area. He works for the British Columbia Centre for Substance Use and is pushing for a safe supply of drugs.

鈥楥risis of masculinity鈥�: How opioid epidemic hits men harder

( 6 min. read )

Traditional ideals of masculinity may be making men more vulnerable to the sort of thinking that leads to fatal drug overdoses. Officials in Vancouver are building their prevention plans around that theory.

By Sara Miller Llana , reporting from Vancouver, British Columbia
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Video

Why fixing a broken Congress matters

People often say Congress is broken; maybe it鈥檚 worn out, too. We can easily forget that Congress is more than elected officials; it is also a workplace for staffers, serving members in all sorts of ways. They need public support and resources to keep Congress running. Our video explores this issue, with a little help from modeling clay.

Why Congress should spend more 鈥� on itself

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The Explainer

Amid concerns about 2020, a primer on Russian election interference

( 5 min. read )

Public faith in the integrity of elections is critical to any democracy. With new details from the Mueller report about Russia鈥檚 interference in the U.S. in 2016, here鈥檚 an overview of what happened 鈥� and whether it might happen again.聽聽

By Christa Case Bryant
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Ben Curtis/AP/File
Giraffes and zebras congregate in the shade in Mikumi National Park in Tanzania. In its first global assessment of biodiversity, the United Nations reports that 1 million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction.

So 1 million species are at risk of extinction. Now what?

( 5 min. read )

The bleak environmental reports just keep coming. The latest declares that humans pose a threat to a vast portion of Earth鈥檚 plants and animals. But what can the public do with that kind of information?聽

By Eva Botkin-Kowacki
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10 fantastic May books to whisk you away

( 3 min. read )

Now, here are two books that our reviewers picked out as being among the best of recently published fiction and nonfiction.

One is 鈥淭he Satapur Moonstone,鈥� by Sujata Massey. It鈥檚 a novel about Perveen Mistry, a rare woman lawyer in 1920s India, who travels to a remote princely state to resolve a dispute about the young maharajah鈥檚 schooling between his mother and his grandmother. The death of the first in line to the throne was thought to be a curse, but the dauntless Perveen unravels a nasty plot. There鈥檚 a romance brewing, too.

The other choice is 鈥淪tony the Road,鈥� by Henry Louis Gates Jr. Reconstruction saw a brief flowering of African American empowerment after the Civil War. But as Gates recounts, the ideals of Reconstruction were soon extinguished by Jim Crow, a system of oppression designed to preserve the South鈥檚 status quo. Gates explores how Jim Crow propaganda still informs public discourse today.

By Staff
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The Monitor's View
AP
Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shake hands after a speech before Congress by the NATO Secretary General on April 3.

The oh-too-rare case of loving political foes

( 3 min. read )

Many Republicans wonder why President Donald Trump has not tweeted a personal attack against Nancy Pelosi and even meets with her聽frequently. Does he actually like the House speaker?

Among Democrats, former Vice President Joe Biden is similarly singled out for his tributes to the character or likability of prominent Republicans, from Dick Cheney to William Barr. At the funeral for Sen. John McCain, he said, 鈥淚 loved John McCain.鈥� He took particular flak earlier this year for calling Vice President Mike Pence 鈥渁 decent guy.鈥� Some pundits predict Mr. Biden鈥檚 aisle-crossing good nature will doom him in the primaries for failing a purity test among party stalwarts.

In today鈥檚 call-out culture 鈥� when four out of 10 people view those in the other party as 鈥渄ownright evil鈥� 鈥� it is becoming news when leaders show a love for others despite a sharp divide over policies, personal traits, rules of engagement, or even basic facts. Their actions often go beyond civility or mere tolerance. They listen with a warm heart to the deeper worries of opponents and, without Machiavellian pretense, admire the good in them. They separate people from their actions and motives to really care for their future or express gratitude for their existence, even for possibly teaching something worthwhile.

The latest example of this rare species in Washington is Jim Baker, who recently resigned as the FBI general counsel. He experienced strong disagreements with the Trump White House and took abuse from the president for simply doing nonpartisan work in the agency. Last week Mr. Baker posted an essay on the Lawfare blog despite objections from friends and colleagues. It is titled 鈥淲hy I Do Not Hate Donald Trump.鈥�

He wrote, 鈥淚 will try to love him as a human being. I will try to love his family. And most importantly, I will try to love his supporters 鈥� all of them. Loving Donald Trump and loving his supporters is the best way for me to love America and to honor those who sacrificed so much for my freedom.鈥� Mr. Baker does not even want to define Mr. Trump as an enemy in order to then love him in a 海角大神-style response.

Similar words can often be heard from presidential candidate Cory Booker. When goaded recently by Mr. Trump in a tweet, the Democratic senator responded with sincerity, 鈥淚 love you Donald Trump,鈥� while promising to defeat the president in the 2020 election.

Such people like to quote Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 advice that 鈥渉ate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.鈥� But what can that love really look like when the norm in today鈥檚 tribal politics is contempt and dehumanization?

In a new book, 鈥淟ove Your Enemies,鈥� scholar Arthur C. Brooks says the best 鈥渃ontempt killer鈥� is gratitude toward those with whom you disagree. It offers them dignity and makes them feel heard, which can diminish the fears and sadness driving bile emotions. While you may not like a person or their views, gratitude shows you empathize and respect them. It reduces a desire for social distance from those who offend one鈥檚 morality.

鈥淵our opportunity when treated with contempt is to change at least one heart 鈥� yours,鈥� Mr. Brooks writes. 鈥淵ou may not be able to control the actions of others, but you can absolutely control your reaction.鈥�

Might Mr. Baker鈥檚 essay on loving Mr. Trump mark a turning point away from America鈥檚 descent into the politics of personal contempt? As the presidential race heats up, voters can choose to gravitate toward candidates who honor rather than hound opponents with howls of derision. In politics, love isn鈥檛 blind. It can melt hate.

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.

Finding a deeper sense of identity, overcoming drug addiction

( 3 min. read )

Looking beyond the physical senses for his sense of worth and identity lifted today鈥檚 contributor out of hopelessness and brought freedom from substance abuse 鈥� an experience that inspired his prayers for others facing such issues.

By John Kohler
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A message of love

Mark Baker/AP
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (l.) receives a hongi, a traditional Maori greeting, from Sir Tipene O'Regan upon his arrival at a climate change and agriculture event hosted by Ngai Tahu iwi and the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases in Christchurch, New Zealand, Tuesday. Mr. Guterres is on the final day of his three-day visit to New Zealand as part of a trip to the South Pacific to highlight the problems of climate change.
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( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us. Come back tomorrow. In Belize, a bold effort to change environmental laws and replant coral has achieved the impossible: It has brought a reef back from the brink.

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2019
May
14
Tuesday

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