2019
July
22
Monday

Monitor Daily Podcast

July 22, 2019
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Amelia Newcomb
Senior editor

Welcome to the Monitor Daily. Today, we look at how a hard-line conservative base is reshaping British politics and offer key context for the escalating U.S.-Iran dispute. We’ve also got stories on the dangers of “hostage diplomacy,” the power of a unified electorate in Ukraine, and what’s behind the plummeting U.S. high school dropout rate.

But before we get to that:

Over the past very hot weekend, a lot of people sought refuge in ... the library.

Libraries are oases at such moments, extending hours and reminding people they’re as much a community center as a place to find titles. They’re more than a bunch of bookshelves.

That helps explain why emotions run high when libraries are repeatedly on budget chopping blocks, or it’s suggested library staff are optional. In North London, for example, protests have broken out over “open” libraries, which some 150 British communities are testing. Residents get keypad access to the building and checkout is self-service. It may be better than nothing – though there’s concern about safety – and flexibility is a plus. Yet there’s a “but” in that idea. ...

As the Monitor has regularly explored, libraries are often extolled for high participation rates, popularity with students, and being a resource for learning new skills, finding jobs, or accessing computers, particularly in lower-income communities. They may even provide housing. They’re associated with vitality and gratitude. Helsinki residents call their new central library the city’s “living room.”

Harvard public policy Professor Robert Putnam (“Bowling Alone”) calls that social capital, which he sees as essential to community well-being. So the next time you see librarians at work, ask them a question. Or visit during a heat wave. You can see if you agree.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Dominic Lipinski/Reuters
Conservative leadership candidate Boris Johnson poses for a photograph at the Wight Shipyard Co. at Venture Quay during a visit to the Isle of Wight, Britain, June 27, 2019. It is widely assumed Mr. Johnson will become the U.K.’s next prime minister.

Frustrations with government policies and elites can spur a retreat to hard lines – even if it’s unclear where that will lead.

Karen Norris/Staff

As the hostility between the U.S. and Iran escalates, deeper context can bring greater insight. Here are three issues to keep in mind as you watch this story.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
China's ban on Canadian beef is having an immediate effect on those in the beef industry like Ballco Group, which runs this feedlot in Strathmore, Alberta.

Diplomacy creates space to resolve differences through familiar frameworks. Aggressive moves outside those parameters may undercut the power of careful calibration.

Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife, Olena, go to cast their ballots at a polling station during a parliamentary election in Kiev, Ukraine, on Sunday.

Ukrainians have shown surprising unity in giving their new leader the political tools he needs to fulfill his promises. It’s rooted in confidence he is listening to them and can deliver.

Points of Progress

What's going right

Gradual progress is often difficult to see in the moment. But the power of a long-term commitment to fixing a problem is evident in the major gains in graduation rates.

SOURCE:

Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Center, Save the Children

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Jacob Turcotte/Staff

The Monitor's View

Reuters
Mobs of men in white T-shirts and carrying poles attacked pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong July 22.

As an aspiring world power, China is coming under greater scrutiny, especially in how it treats Hong Kong. The small territory of 7 million currently enjoys special limited freedoms from the mainland. On Sunday, that spotlight on China became even harsher.

A mob of pro-Beijing thugs attacked hundreds of peaceful pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, injuring 45. The violence immediately raised a difficult question for China’s ruling Communist Party. Does its version of rule of law include Hong Kong courts punishing the party’s most avid supporters?

If the attackers are not caught and fairly tried, then the party’s claim to equality before the law is as thin as a wonton wrapper. In addition, allowing the masked, baton-wielding thugs to go free would give the people of Hong Kong even more reason to demand direct elections, independent courts, no extradition treaty with the mainland, and all the other means to protect civil rights.

In recent years, the idea of equality before the law in China has itself taken a beating. Party chief Xi Jinping has clearly placed the party above the law and the state in contrast to his recent predecessors. He sees law mainly as a way to ensure party rule, not enhance individual freedoms or prosperity. China’s justice system is noted for its arbitrary detention, use of torture, and forced confessions. Mr. Xi even promotes the model to other nations.

Yet he is facing pushback, especially now in Hong Kong. Some pro-Beijing officials are demanding the arrest of those who attacked the innocent people on Sunday. Police said they would not tolerate “violent behavior” and were investigating the incident “in order to bring the offenders to justice.”

Hong Kong people still embrace the universality of equal standing before the law, which is rooted in the dignity and goodness of individual conscience. Unlike the Communist Party, natural rulers are those who respect such equality and do not use law as a tool for power. Equality is one more incentive in a society to do unto others as they would have them do unto them.

This is why Hong Kong’s pro-democracy advocates must continue to rely on nonviolent tactics. Peaceful marches are a signal of equality. Violence against the protesters only exposes those who see themselves as above the law. Once exposed, they lose legitimacy and, perhaps someday, power.


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.

There can never be too much moral courage in the world. Here’s a spiritual take on this quality and how each of us can nurture it in ourselves in a way that brings healing and solutions.


A message of love

Indian Space Research Organization/AP
India successfully launched an unmanned spacecraft to the far side of the moon on July 22, 2019, a week after aborting the mission due to a technical problem. If successful, it will become the second country to land a craft there, after China.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte and Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thanks for starting your week with us. Tomorrow, our California bureau chief, Francine Kiefer, will look at what it feels like to be in the political superminority – in this case, Republicans in Huntington Beach.

More issues

2019
July
22
Monday

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