2019
May
23
Thursday

Monitor Daily Podcast

May 23, 2019
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Gary Hirshberg came to Washington this week as a businessperson with a message about climate change: “This is not a partisan issue, period.”

Wait, what?

As founder and chairman of yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, Mr. Hirshberg knows full well about the partisan chasm that exists in America over this issue. Yet he and other business leaders, representing 75 companies with combined annual revenues of more than $2.5 trillion, believe the time is ripe for bridging that divide. The firms include big ones like PepsiCo and General Mills, plus oil giants BP and Shell.

Citing the risks of human-driven climate change observed by scientists, the business leaders met with members of both political parties yesterday – aiming to engage Republicans especially. The coalition is urging a “price on carbon,” such as a tax on greenhouse gas emissions, to create incentives for the private sector to transition toward a clean-energy economy.

“Investing in reversing climate change is good business,” Mr. Hirshberg said. Or as another CEO colleague told me and other reporters: Ultimately, sustainable business is the only business.

They don’t expect to win results instantly. But it’s a message they expect will resonate over time with Republicans, with a carbon tax being seen as a less-intrusive way for government policy to address what GOP lawmakers are increasingly acknowledging as an issue of genuine concern.

One reason is real-world evidence. (Mr. Hirshberg calls tackling warming temperatures a matter of “dire necessity” for Stonyfield’s cows.) But another reason is changing politics, as a fast-growing cohort of younger voters – including the kids of the CEOs – sees climate action as a top priority for their future.

Now to our stories for today, including a closer look at what’s really driving voter attitudes in Europe, the rising voice of veterans in U.S. politics, and what role humans should play in encouraging the revival of wild wolves.


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Today's stories

And why we wrote them

Based on political volume alone, immigration seems like the top issue among voters in this week’s European elections. The reality may actually be different.

Courtesy of Mike Waltz
Green Beret Mike Waltz (r.) instructs a member of the Afghan National Police (l., blue shirt) in basic tactics in an undisclosed location. The police were ill-equipped and poorly trained for the isolated paramilitary operations required to combat the Taliban.

Both parties are trying to recruit more veterans to run for Congress, and three young vets are seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. When we spoke to voters who are veterans, they called for qualities like humility in public office. 

Q&A

What does justice look like for children and parents who were separated by the Trump administration? An in-depth interview with a key ACLU official provides insight into a painstaking and extensive process.

U.S. Forest Service/AP/File
A female gray wolf and two of the three pups stroll through Lassen National Forest in Northern California. Advocates in Colorado are pushing for a ballot initiative that would direct the state wildlife agency to manage a reintroduction program.

How much of a role should people play in the reintroduction of wild species? Colorado is shaping up to be the next battleground over wolf reintroduction.

Difference-maker

Courtesy of Hopeworks
Hopeworks youth work on hacking a solution to food access for Camden, New Jersey. Hopeworks couples coding and computer training with life readiness counseling.

It can be easy to define a community by its past. But when Dan Rhoton looks at one New Jersey city’s youths, he doesn’t see heirs to crime and poverty. He sees young people ‘ready to change the world.’


The Monitor's View

The recent election in India was the most inclusive public event in history. More than 600 million people gathered over six weeks in April and May to cast ballots in polling stations from sea level to 15,000 feet in the Himalayas. Even the poorest and most rural people were treated with respect and equality.

Yet despite this massive display of democracy, the big winner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, felt compelled to tweet this message after his party’s big victory was declared Thursday: “Together we will build a strong and inclusive India.”

Since coming to power in 2014, Mr. Modi has struggled to convince India’s religious minorities, especially the 14% Muslim minority, that he is not seeking cultural and political dominance for the majority Hindus. Under his rule, India has seen a rise in hate crimes by right-wing Hindu groups. One state minister was banned from campaigning for three days after making anti-Muslim comments. And to show he is working for everyone, Mr. Modi kept repeating this slogan during the campaign: “together with all, development for all.”

The son of a tea seller, Mr. Modi made this election very much about him. That might seem bad for a democracy. Yet his popularity only helps distance the prime minister from his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, whose roots lie in the idea that Hindus are a single nation and are threatened by Muslims and others. One survey found a third of BJP voters would have backed another party if Mr. Modi was not running.

Mr. Modi won the contest in spite of a downturn in the economy and increasing stress for farmers. Rather than play to religious bigotry, he has had to come up with a slew of welfare schemes for poor people. He also took advantage of an attack by Pakistani terrorists in February to appeal for broad-based nationalism.

Since he came into office, the number of people with access to the internet has doubled to 500 million. With hopes of turning India into a global superpower, Mr. Modi cannot afford for flare-ups of religious intolerance to damage the country’s image.

India has a good history of secular governance and religious coexistence since its independence in 1947 – and despite the heavy sectarian violence during the partition of British India. Inclusion is now part of its identity. Just the sheer number of voters attests to that. Mr. Modi and his BJP, even though they won, must honor this legacy of harmony.


A Christian 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 – in its various forms – 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 – The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston – whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.

Today’s contributor, an admirer of great architecture, explores the idea of church as an unconfined, empowering, spiritual structure.


A message of love

Richard Vogel/AP
Dancers from different Los Angeles area schools compete in the Conga Kids Dance Championship at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles May 22. Conga Kids serves predominantly Hispanic and African American 10- and 11-year-olds in historically disadvantaged areas. This year 9,000 fifth graders from more than 90 schools competed in the competition.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte and Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

That's the Daily for Thursday. We'll be with you again tomorrow, when our package will include first-person secrets of reporting on Capitol Hill.

More issues

2019
May
23
Thursday

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