2020
March
24
Tuesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

March 24, 2020
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Our five selected stories today cover caring for rule-breaking teens and seniors, testing democratic boundaries in Israel, a new twist on juvenile justice in New Orleans, building a sense of community in a Romanian village, and our global points of progress roundup.

Like a slow-motion video of a building demolition, we watched the best-laid plans of my nephew's wedding crumble. 

James and his fiancée, Meghan, live near Seattle. As their March 21 wedding date approached, the lockdowns spread. As the pandemic chased their date, they responded defiantly: “The wedding is on.”

But local officials had a public to protect. The reception venue was abruptly closed. Then, the wedding venue was shuttered. Undeterred, they adjusted – just like many couples who have canceled receptions and honeymoons, but not their weddings. James and Meghan would have a small, courthouse wedding. Actually, it was a courthouse-steps wedding. The judge met them outside and performed the ceremony standing six feet away. 

The reception also found a new venue. Guests from across the country dressed up in suits and ties and sparkly dresses, and gathered on Zoom for a Hollywood Squares-like reception. The bride, groom, and best man joined from their car. We took turns toasting the newlyweds. Then we danced in our little video squares to “Uptown Funk.”

Was this the wedding of their dreams? No. But there were ribald jokes and tales, peals of laughter, oohing and aahing over outfits, and tears of joy. Everything you could want in a wedding. 

Take that, coronavirus. Love conquers. 


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Robby Loeb
Pia Loeb and her two children, who are in Boulder, Colorado, use video chat to talk to their grandmother, who is in New York.

We look at navigating the concern for family members who are disregarding public health directives – often teens and seniors – and how to express compassion and care from a distance.

Civilian compliance can be more difficult to bring about in free societies. We look at Israel for an example of leaders confronting the coronavirus while testing the limits of democracy and rule of law, even if it’s temporary. 

A deeper look

Cheryl Gerber/The Hechinger Report
Lisa María Rhodes, a social worker who helps young people entangled with the law stay in school, hugs a student at Carver High School in New Orleans.

This is a story about developing a broader sense of justice. Our reporter looks at a program in New Orleans where teachers become legal advocates for students to keep them in school instead of jail.

A letter from

Colorado
David Karas
The medieval fortified church in Viscri, Romania, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Transylvanian village has seen a revival in recent years, in part thanks to tourism-boosting efforts.

We visited a Transylvania town that’s leveraging its history to draw tourists and is rebuilding a sense of community.

Jacob Turcotte/Staff

Points of Progress

What's going right
Staff
Places where the world saw progress, for the March 30, 2020 Monitor Weekly.

This is more than feel-good news. It's where the world is making concrete progress. A roundup of positive stories to inspire you.

Staff

The Monitor's View

Reuters
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose after a Feb. 17 signing of a EU-funded program for Albania.

If you tally what ails the European Union – coronavirus lockdowns, looming recession, resurgent nationalism, Brexit – it is amazing the EU still holds together as a “home” for 27 nations with shared values. Yet this week, the union’s leaders are expected to approve membership talks with two countries, Albania and North Macedonia.

Instead of cowering before illness and other turmoil, this community of nearly 450 million people seeks to expand itself.

Such confidence in the EU’s health and its power of attraction befits a proclamation made last year by Ursula von der Leyen, the first female president of the bloc’s executive body. She said Europe must “step up” its role in the world.

That role includes making sure Europe’s most troubled corner, the Balkans, is finally brought into the EU fold. Two of the region’s nations, Croatia and Slovenia, have already joined the EU. Montenegro and Serbia are negotiating accession to the union. Meanwhile, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina are “candidates” for formal talks.

Progress to implant democracy and rule of law in these parts of former Yugoslavia has been slow. Ethnic nationalism is still strong. Bosnia-Herzegovina has not recovered from the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Serbian forces. Kosovo has yet to be fully recognized as a sovereign nation.

But North Macedonia and Albania (which was not part of Yugoslavia) have now implemented enough reforms to open a door for EU membership. There is no guarantee they will ultimately join the bloc. Both must show progress in tackling corruption and other problems. Albania in particular is in a political stalemate between its two major parties.

By opening talks with the two countries, however, the EU hopes to further push along their reforms. The bloc also seeks to counter the growing influence of Russia and China in the region.

Most of all, the EU wants to show that its basic goal of creating a “common home” for Europe is alive and well. Its won’t-you-be-my-neighbor invitation to two potential members is a way to expand the EU’s sense of belonging on the Continent.


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.

Even when illness seems unavoidable, it is possible to overcome fear – and experience protection and safety as well, as a woman experienced during a mononucleosis outbreak at her college.


A message of love

Andrew Couldridge/Reuters
Milly, 7, jumps on a trampoline as she takes a break from home schooling in Hertford, England, March 24, 2020.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us. Come back tomorrow. We’re working on a story about a science project for homebound kids involving ice and string. 

More issues

2020
March
24
Tuesday

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