All Commentary
OpinionBahrain doctor: If US loses the faith of people like me, it loses the MideastWashington’s tepid response to Bahrain's crackdown on nonviolent protesters has forced me to question what America really stands for. Obama must tell the ruling family to stop attacking protesters and to drop sham charges against medics like me and hundreds of others.
- How the Monitor is doing
Three years ago, the Monitor embarked on a bold strategy of Web-first journalism. We are making steady progress toward our goal of becoming self-sustaining.
- A Christian Science PerspectiveParenting, innocence, and the threat of sexual abuse
A Christian Science perspective: How a mom responded when a man who lived in the same apartment complex was rumored to be a pedophile.
The Monitor's ViewWhat's right in this picture? A Chinese dissident in US custodyPleas for US help like those from dissident Chen in China can wear down a superpower trying to reorient itself. Yet foreigners still look to American for moral leadership. A mature democracy should know how to resolve such dilemmas.
- Readers RespondReaders Write: War fueled by defense lobby; Attack on Iran is legal; Catholics can't change faith for individual wishes
Letters to the Editor for the weekly print issue of April 30, 2012: The 'appetite for war' is fueled by the arms lobby's appetite for profit; there's a key legal difference between a 'preemptive' and a 'preventive' attack on Iran; and Catholics don't force others to follow their beliefs, they simply demand First Amendment protections.
Walter RodgersFlorida-style 'Stand Your Ground' gun laws sub impulse for intelligent thinkingEven as George Zimmerman stands trial for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, many Americans argue these laws make us safe. I've had pistols held to my head from Bosnia to Beirut. Your best self-defense is your tongue. Those who put their faith in guns will ultimately be outgunned.
- Walter RodgersFlorida-style 'Stand Your Ground' gun laws sub impulse for intelligent thinking
Even as George Zimmerman stands trial for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, many Americans argue these laws make us safe. I've had pistols held to my head from Bosnia to Beirut. Your best self-defense is your tongue. Those who put their faith in guns will ultimately be outgunned.
- John HughesMy long love affair with Monitor journalism
From correspondent, to editor, to columnist, I've seen radical changes in journalism and the world.
- John HughesMy long love affair with Monitor journalism
From correspondent, to editor, to columnist, I've seen radical changes in journalism and the world.
- A Christian Science PerspectiveToward freedom for Myanmar
A Christian Science perspective: When visiting with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi last fall, this author found fresh insight on the promise of freedom for the Burmese.
The Monitor's ViewA lesson on leadership from AfricaThe guilty verdict against Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia, is more than a victory for justice. It is a lesson for Africans and other about no holding up 'great leaders' as saviors. Great ideas are better than great people.
OpinionDiplomacy flowers with cherry blossomsAt the close of the 100th anniversary celebration of Tokyo's gift of cherry blossoms to Washington, it's worth remembering the story of diplomacy behind the trees. Like most diplomatic initiatives, this one had to overcome indifference, opposition, and many setbacks before it could flower.
OpinionCandidates, lend me your earsRobert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. pulled poetry from their hearts to heal and rouse the nation. As this National Poetry Month draws to a close, our politics could benefit from reconnecting with poetry as a source of insight.
OpinionWhy Voice of America is losing to voice of communist China – at home and abroadWith funding and program cuts, Washington is crippling the truth-telling Voice of America broadcasts in China. Meanwhile, Beijing is aggressively expanding its media campaign to spread untruths – broadcasting from American soil. America can't afford to let the VOA go silent.
- A Christian Science PerspectiveAre you being ogled?
A Christian Science perspective: How other people's views of us may adversely affect us, and how we can find freedom from those influences.
- What makes The Monitor tick?
A new book by Keith Collins examines more than a century of Monitor journalism and asks whether it is living up to its purpose.
The 'long war' for energy securitySince the oil shocks of the 1970s, the US has been seeking energy independence. Now natural gas is seen as a possible solution. But at best it will probably only give Americans a breather while they look beyond hydrocarbons.
The Monitor's ViewA matter of discretion in immigration reform and Arizona lawArguments made in Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing on the Arizona immigration law get to the heart of the national debate: How much discretion to give to police and prosecutors?
Global ViewpointMost of China's Communist Party princelings aren't like Bo XilaiThe Bo Xilai saga of power, wealth, corruption, and murder has brought the issue of China’s princelings (offspring of Communist Party’s leaders) to the top of international discourse on China. But Bo's privileged rise is not the norm for the contemporary Communist Party.
- Global ViewpointMost of China's Communist Party princelings aren't like Bo Xilai
The Bo Xilai saga of power, wealth, corruption, and murder has brought the issue of China’s princelings (offspring of Communist Party’s leaders) to the top of international discourse on China. But Bo's privileged rise is not the norm for the contemporary Communist Party.
