2017
September
14
Thursday

Monitor Daily Podcast

September 14, 2017
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Yvonne Zipp
Features Editor

As people in Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean go about rebuilding their lives in the wake of two devastating hurricanes, there have been so many individual stories that our reporters have been working nonstop, sleeping in cars and vans. 

I’d also like to call attention to some of the great stories told by other news sites. There have been tales of courage and heroism, such as the Houston Chronicle’s saga of five people caught in the flood. And there are stories of perseverance and fortitude. Take this Washington Post story about residents of the US Virgin Islands, whose homes were flattened during hurricane Irma and who face months without electricity. They want to be sure rescuers help the people “who really need it” first.

There are also moments of grace, as with this New York Times story about three coffee cups.

Houston resident Shirley Hines lost a lot in the flood, including the Fitz & Floyd cups that were her late mother’s. “When I was really feeling down, I’d get one and drink me some coffee,” she told a Times reporter.

Touched, a Maryland woman found three identical cups – the only ones the manufacturer could find for sale – and sent them to Texas.

“I desperately wanted to replace that broken cup,” Ann Dahms writes, talking about the world not just being a place of trouble but of “great strength, dignity, and personal courage. That’s what I wanted to honor.”

And so do we.

Now, here are our five stories for today. 


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Taimy Alvarez/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP
Firefighter Bryan Quick, with Los Angeles City Fire Department FEMA California Task Force 1, went from house to house looking for residents in Cudjoe Key, Fla., Sept. 12.

As President Trump meets with survivors of hurricane Irma in Florida Thursday, an important question looms: How best to get people back on their feet?

Foreign policy is dependent on two things: clarity and consistency, diplomats and experts say. Without that, it's difficult for other countries to anticipate how the US will behave – and even more difficult for those tasked with delivering the US message.

The outside world regarded French President Emmanuel Macron as a huge success story, based on the final tally in the presidential election. But his actual support is more modest. Despite that, his campaign promises were clear, and he is moving to follow through.

Tricia Taormina
Recently elected women attend a policy training organized by the nongovernmental organization Jagaran Nepal in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 31. A quota system has vastly increased the political participation of women in Nepal.

What does it mean to have a representative democracy? That's something Nepal weighed when it mandated nomination quotas – not just for women, but for lower-class women. Now that the women have a seat at the table, they are trying to find their voice.

How has a black market developed for something that can be measured in the quintillions? The sand shortage, while fascinating in itself, also highlights modern society's voracious appetite.


The Monitor's View

A good reason to watch the struggles of the European Union is that much of the world is trying to imitate its successes. How has the EU been able to link half a billion people across more than two dozen countries for so long? In a Sept. 13 speech, Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, gave the simplest answer yet: “Our values are our compass.”

By values, he meant only a few: freedom, rule of law, and equality, as opposed to oppression, personal rule, and what he called second-class citizenship. The EU was set up in postwar Europe to prevent a recurrence of such practices. Now its purpose is less defensive and more demonstrative.

“For me, Europe is more than just a single market. More than money, more than the euro. It was always about values.” Mr. Juncker said in a State of the Union speech.

Over the past decade, the EU has had to keep falling back on its ideals to survive economic and political storms, such as Greece’s ruinous debt, a refugee influx, and Poland’s attack on its independent judiciary. The latest is Britain’s planned exit by 2019. The loss of the continent’s second-largest economy may actually help the EU. More than 80 percent of a shrunken EU will be using the euro as a common currency, allowing for easier integration and trust-building. “Europe was not made to stand still. It must never do so,” Juncker said.

The EU, he might have said, is a giant geopolitical experiment in creating linkages across diverse countries. At first, the EU may have bonded in trade and hard infrastructure. But it has really endured difficult times by practicing the “soft power” of unifying principles. This lesson is now more relevant than ever as a number of powerful nations are competing with visions to connect the Eurasian landmass.

The most ambitious plan is China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, which aims to build a “silk road” for the 21st century, both on land and sea. Russia has launched its own infrastructure vision through the Eurasian Economic Union. Turkey has its Vision 2023 plan to link its economy with railroads across Central Asia. Japan is using its technological expertise to create land and maritime corridors across Asia. Iran, South Korea, and the 10 nations of Southeast Asia have similar visions of being the centers of interconnecting transport and other economic activity.

What may be missing in these transborder plans are the binding values that go beyond material interests and institutional power. The EU has learned by hard experience that its “soft” ideals provide the links that endure the occasional frictions between nations. That is why a speech by a well-seasoned EU leader like Juncker comes with lessons for much of the world.


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

The “Blue Whale Challenge” has been taking social media by storm, tempting teens in several countries. To play this so-called game, participants complete a series of tasks, with the final challenge requiring the player to commit suicide. The ongoing reports about “Blue Whale” activity show there is a need for a more powerful understanding of how to better defend children from these influences. As a corrections counselor for delinquent youths, contributor Judy Cole saw how an understanding that God is the all-powerful divine Mind of everyone helped her reverse the lure of violence. When she witnessed a youth pulling a knife on a student intern, her immediate conviction that this divine influence was governing enabled her to remain calm and communicate effectively to the young man. No harm occurred, and from that point forward he experienced a complete turnaround in his character. God, the one divine Mind, guides His children only to life, liberty, and peace. Our own commitment to being influenced by God helps prove the impotence of any negative influence, and enables us to help others.


A message of love

Reuters
Students at a primary school in Linyi, China, use red scarves to make a Chinese flag ahead of the Communist Party of China's 19th National Congress.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thanks for reading! Come back tomorrow. One story we’re working on: As the technology age physically cuts people off from one another, the importance of empathy as a character trait is getting increased attention. A leader in teaching social skills, Denmark is often ranked as the world’s "happiest" country. How do the Danes do it? Sara Miller Llana reports from Copenhagen.

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2017
September
14
Thursday
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