海角大神

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2022
February
03
Thursday

Monitor Daily Podcast

February 03, 2022
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Mark Sappenfield
Senior global correspondent

In his search for a new Supreme Court nominee, President Joe Biden has said he will nominate a Black woman. That has drawn criticism in some quarters. Shouldn鈥檛 a candidate be considered solely on the merits?

That鈥檚 a hard question. On one hand, of course a justice should be chosen on the merits. But that shouldn鈥檛 鈥� and doesn鈥檛 鈥� exclude Black women. As Mr. Biden said in his announcement, there have long been Black women of 鈥渆xtraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity鈥� in the judiciary. Why haven鈥檛 they been chosen?

For me, something crystalized this week in an odd way. Football (of all things) gave me a different lens.

Brian Flores was, until last month, head coach of the Miami Dolphins. By all accounts, he did an excellent job, bordering on exceptional. Two years in a row, he took a team with middling talent to the cusp of the playoffs. One Sports Illustrated column rated him the third-best coach in the team鈥檚 45-year history.

On Wednesday, he sued the NFL, saying teams looking for head coaches interviewed him just to comply with a rule that requires interviewing candidates of color. He called one interview a 鈥渟ham.鈥� Meanwhile, white coaches have been hired right and left in a league with only one Black head coach.

How is Mr. Flores still out of job? Stephen Holder of The Athletic writes: 鈥淵ou can encourage and even incentivize people to do the right thing. But what you cannot do is make them want to do the right thing.鈥�

One can argue about Mr. Biden鈥檚 approach. But Mr. Flores鈥� situation points to how hard it can be for even the most qualified Black candidates 鈥� whether in coaching or the court system. In that context, perhaps Mr. Biden just thinks he is doing the right thing.

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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

鈥楧emocrats woke a sleeping giant鈥�: Why parents say they鈥檝e had enough

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In 2020, Democrats saw the handling of the pandemic as an issue in their favor. As the 2022 midterms approach, the opposite might now be true.

By Story Hinckley
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Patterns

Tracing global connections

To beat scandals, Boris Johnson doubles down on Brexit

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Mired in scandal, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is leaning in on his prime achievement, Brexit. But so far the pickings from Britain鈥檚 departure from the EU have been slim.

By Ned Temko , reporting from London
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Rogan Ward/Reuters
Residents join a demonstration against Royal Dutch Shell's plans to start seismic surveys to explore for gas in Segidi, South Africa. Critics worry that powerful seismic sound waves will damage the environment.

Shell offered South African villagers jobs. They chose their heritage instead.

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Residents in places like Segidi, South Africa, are used to multinational corporations getting what they want. But in this case, the tide turned.聽

By Ryan Lenora Brown , reporting from SEGIDI, SOUTH AFRICA
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A deeper look
Eric Gay/AP
Arlena Brown holds her youngest child as she and husband Robert lead their older children through math practice in Austin, Texas, July 13, 2021. Rates of home schooling doubled in 2020. The largest growth was among Black families, with a fivefold increase, but all racial groups tracked have seen increases.

Opting out: A wider range of parents drives home-school surge

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The pandemic has prompted families to rethink the best way for their children to learn. For some parents, the decision to home-school is driven by culture as much as by academics.聽

By Rebecca Klein, Neal Morton, Javeria Salman, and Lillian Mongeau
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Q&A

Gen Z鈥檚 superpower may be turning fear into action

( 3 min. read )

Every generation faces turmoil. But a new book argues Gen Z is channeling recent societal unrest into civic activism on racial justice, climate change, and other pressing issues.

By Dwight A. Weingarten
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The Monitor's View
Reuters
Buildings in the business district of Jakarta, Indonesia, are seen during sunset Feb. 2.

In one nation鈥檚 battle with corruption, more than an ounce of prevention

( 2 min. read )

Last year, Indonesia began a new training for 100 officials in charge of fishing ports. Over three days, they were taught to be 鈥渁gents of change in integrity.鈥� The goal: to curb illegal fish poaching in the world鈥檚 largest archipelago nation. 鈥淧rinciples of good governance must be created,鈥� explained a government organizer.

The course on integrity reflects an ongoing shift in a country known for high levels of corruption: Focus more on reinforcing virtues such as honesty and accountability than on trying to capture and punish corrupt actors.

鈥淐orruption eradication should address the root of the problem,鈥� said President Joko 鈥淛okowi鈥� Widodo in December. 鈥淧revention is a more fundamental way.鈥�

Upon taking office in 2014, Jokowi called for a 鈥渕ental revolution鈥� against corruption in the world鈥檚 third-largest democracy. 鈥淧ropriety must be instilled in the culture,鈥� he said, individual by individual. He asked religious figures, cultural celebrities, educators, and community leaders to help.

While he still supports punitive approaches to corruption, conducted mainly by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the attorney general, those efforts have proved frustrating. In 2019, for example, the legislature clipped the wings of the KPK on use of surveillance techniques. The agency also had its own scandals. The president himself advised against relying so much on high-profile arrests.

Indonesia now receives financial support for anti-graft efforts from the Biden administration, which has put combating corruption as central to its foreign policy. Last November, the United States gave $23.6 million to the Southeast Asian nation to increase 鈥減ublic demand for accountability鈥� and advance 鈥減reventative measures against corrupt practices.鈥�

In January, Indonesia received a bit of good news that might help back the president鈥檚 priority on prevention. Its global ranking on Transparency International鈥檚 Corruption Perception Index improved. Indonesia rose from 102 to 96 out of 180 countries.

In government and many big businesses in Indonesia, various programs now aim to strengthen individuals in making decisions with integrity and ethics. The president鈥檚 鈥渕ental revolution,鈥� in other words, won鈥檛 be on the streets or in the courtrooms. Or as Mahmuddin, the principal of an anti-corruption training school in Aceh province told the Sydney Morning Herald: 鈥淲e can at least start with ourselves.鈥�

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.

God is not a mystery

( 4 min. read )

The healing light of the divine trinity reveals that it鈥檚 God鈥檚 very nature to be known, and it鈥檚 in our very nature to know God.

By Mimi Oka
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A message of love

LM Otero/AP
Amanda (left) and Rebecka try to keep warm as they walk to work during a light freezing rain in Dallas on Feb. 3, 2022. A major winter storm with millions of Americans in its path is spreading rain, freezing rain, and heavy snow across the country. As of Thursday afternoon, more than 200,000 people were experiencing power outages in Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas, and winter weather alerts spanned from Texas to Maine.
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( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thank you for joining us today. Please come back tomorrow when our Ann Scott Tyson looks at Beijing 2008 and 2022. How do the upcoming Winter Olympics shed a light on China鈥檚 changing sense of itself and place in the world?

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More issues

2022
February
03
Thursday

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