All The Monitor's View
Getting up close with the criminal justice systemA bipartisan group of state officials has started to visit prisons, meet crime victims, and engage with the criminal justice system. The goal: bring better reform to a broken system by understanding it more closely.
Redirecting Myanmar’s dominant faith to peaceThe military’s persecution of minority Muslims comes out of fears among many Buddhists for their religion. Aung San Suu Kyi can help relieve those fears with a higher moral narrative.
How one hurricane left a lesson in gratitudeAs the East Coast hunkers down for Irma, Vermont’s post-hurricane experience in 2011 provides an opportunity to learn the power of appreciation for a community’s spirit and its resiliency.
When combatants turn democratsThis month, Colombia’s former guerrilla group called FARC transformed itself into a peaceful political party, perhaps setting a model of reconciliation for other countries in armed conflict.
A Kenyan court lifts a lamp of integrity for AfricaNever before has a court in Africa annulled the election of a sitting president, yet Kenya’s justices did just that last week, adding to other successes on the continent in adopting democratic ideals.
What helps a city like Houston recover after a disasterDisaster experts point to a community’s devotion to qualities such as trust, patience, listening, and equality as essential to planning and achieving a recovery. Houston’s success in its rescue efforts gives it a head start.
A clear signal to help the problem gamblerBritain imposes a record fine on a gambling site that failed to screen customers who had gambled despite signaling they wanted to be self-excluded. Both the gambling industry and its regulators worldwide must be more diligent.
No relapse allowed for Guatemala’s anti-corruption winsThe Central American country, after a decade of progress against graft, defies a president’s backsliding and again sets a model for the hemisphere.
Harvey’s lesson in weather forecastingThe accuracy in forecasting the hurricane helped Texas better prepare and shows the ongoing desire to live in rapport with nature by improving the intelligence of meteorology.
Heading off preemptive violenceThe world is less violent today because of restraint by people or nations in justifying the use of violence to prevent violence against them. That trend should not be easily reversed as the US ponders attacking North Korea or as groups in the US justify violence at public protests. Humanity has grown in its understanding and use of empathy as a tool for peace.
Why the world better manages water crises like HarveyAs floods hit Texas, world water experts met at a global conference. One theme: How water crises drive cooperation more than conflict.
Trust and politicsPoliticians are trying to address voter concerns about corruption in every which way. But the best answer might be to look inward.
The promise of a new school yearA new school year is full of possibility. In some cases, that can mean overcoming pernicious stereotypes about students' limitations.
Afghanistan's deeper challengePresident Trump is taking aim at the terrorist threat to Afghanistan. But the threat of corruption is in many ways more corrosive and will take just as much courage to root out. Yet there are positive glimmers.
Safe protests and uncomfortable conversationsLast weekend's protests in Boston showed the growing tendency to invalidate those on the other side instead of engaging in tough – but needed – conversations.
Teachable monuments?America's debate over Confederate statues comes down to a question of context: What do those statues mean? In the past, some have been used for reconciliation and understanding.
A common thread in curbing racist expressionAfter the violence in Charlottesville, Va., Americans are seeking ways to curb public expressions of racism, from statues to tweets. One idea lies at the heart of these efforts.
What post-ISIS Iraq can do for peaceReports that Iraq wants to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia is another sign of how many Iraqis have learned from battling Islamic State that Sunni-Shiite rivalry must end.
Solar eclipses as lessons in lifting shadows of hateLike the darkness of an eclipse, the dark mood of hate in the United States, stirred by right-wing protests, must be seen as fleeting.
Why the US demands China innovate, not stealA US probe of China’s infringement on American patents comes with an expectation that China has the ingenuity to invent its way to greater prosperity. The biggest barrier: a fear of failure by its researchers.
