All Commentary
OpinionUS should look to Morocco for help with threats in Mali, Algeria, LibyaHillary Rodham Clinton yesterday pointed to violent extremism in places such as Libya and Mali as a 'strategic challenge' to the United States and North Africa. The US can help meet that challenge by partnering with Morocco, an island of calm and progress in a chaotic region.
Global ViewpointWhy Middle East Muslims are taught to hate JewsFor far too long the pervasive Middle Eastern qualification of Jews as murderers and bloodsuckers was dismissed in the West as an extreme view of radical fringe groups. But it is not. It is time for the region's secular movements to start a counter-education in tolerance.
- Global ViewpointWhy Middle East Muslims are taught to hate Jews
For far too long the pervasive Middle Eastern qualification of Jews as murderers and bloodsuckers was dismissed in the West as an extreme view of radical fringe groups. But it is not. It is time for the region's secular movements to start a counter-education in tolerance.
- A Christian Science PerspectiveThe flu is not inevitable
A Christian Science perspective.
OpinionIsrael's new government could bring shift in policy on Arab Spring and PalestiniansFollowing Israel’s parliamentary elections, the gains of Yair Lapid’s moderate party over Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party could provide the opportunity for a needed change in Israel’s stance on the Arab Spring and its conflict with the Palestinians.
OpinionCharacter education is not enough to help poor kidsCharacter education – teaching kids to be responsible and to persevere – isn't enough to bring poor students out of poverty or close the achievement gap. Policymakers need to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and the significant obstacles poor children face.
The Monitor's ViewElection takes Israel's finger off trigger for war with IranThe surprising results of Israel's election sent a message to Netanyahu not to be so trigger-happy in his threats toward Iran's nuclear program. The rise of centrist parties also sends a moderating message to the Middle East.
- A Christian Science PerspectiveProtection from wildfires
A Christian Science perspective: Fires have destroyed homes and farms in many parts of Australia. Here's how one resident is praying.
The Monitor's ViewObama's chance to lift suspicions of ChinaIn his inaugural, Obama's brief mention of foreign affairs called for lifting fears and suspicions through 'engagement.' The idea needs immediate US application in the troubling Japan-China islands clash.
OpinionHow a princess can help Saudi women find their voiceIt's time for Saudi women to beat conservative clerics at their own game by publishing op-eds, using Twitter, and blogging. I know just the woman to help them get started: Princess Ameerah al-Taweel. She should champion a successful US model, The OpEd Project.
OpinionA security vacuum in Obama inaugural addressObama's inaugural address included noble aspirations of how to achieve world peace, but they don't match today's reality. In the Middle East and North Africa, in countries such as Syria and Mali, the US has failed to lead. This leaves a vacuum for extremists to fill.
- A Christian Science PerspectiveDestination: health and wholeness
A Christian Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewObama inaugural address: a call to act on unfulfilled idealsPresident Obama's inaugural address is a call for action to secure America's rights and freedoms. His plea relies on a people who must put love for each other into practice.
OpinionInauguration 2013: Will President Obama's second term resemble Reagan's?Inauguration Day gives President Obama a second chance that resembles President Reagan's in 1985. Reagan hoped to reform the tax code and reduce the deficit in his second term. Like Reagan, Obama will need communication skills to tackle challenges, especially the deficit.
- Readers RespondReaders Write: Zero Dark Thirty fails to take moral stand; Founding Fathers' compromise on faith
Letters to the Editor for the weekly print issue of January 21, 2013: Films like Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty should take a better moral stand on torture. America's Founding Fathers knew the art of compromise – even on issues of faith.
Why second acts matterScoring a 'first' is worthy of celebration. But second acts, second tries, and second chances are crucial. First, they correct for first-time flaws. Second, they prove that firsts were no fluke.
OpinionLessons from Rwanda: Talking about genocide in churchFrom my time in Rwanda, I saw that people don't like to talk about the genocide in their recent past. Then I heard a church sermon there whose universal message of 'life after mass death' seemed perfectly fitted for a country full of one-time perpetrators and families of the murdered.
OpinionAmericans want a good inauguration show – corporate funding or notThough this year's celebration will be scaled back from from Barack Obama's record-breaking 2009 presidential inauguration, its corporate funding has helped ensure plenty of glitz and glam. The history of United States presidential inaugurations shows Americans expect nothing less.
- A Christian Science PerspectiveDr. Martin Luther King Jr. and freedom for all races
A Christian Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewLance Armstrong doping confession: In any sport, drugs are drugsLance Armstrong's doping confession in an interview with Oprah Winfrey should draw outrage, but so should any drug use – including marijuana – by sports stars.
