Amid unusually high concern about this election, many voters don’t recognize that people on the other side are also deeply worried. And that may be part of the problem.
Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.
The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.
Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.
Explore values journalism About usOn Tuesday, we will cover the U.S. elections a little differently. We expect huge demand for information, as well as a desire for sources that won’t incite, frighten, or put a thumb on the partisan scale. So we will put a significant amount of our effort into live updates, which will be calm, insightful, short takes on key news with important analysis or context.
The link to the live updates page will be on our homepage. Just come to CSMonitor.com on Tuesday to find it. We’d appreciate your feedback on the idea and the execution. Please email me at editor@csmonitor.com.
Already a subscriber? Login
Monitor journalism changes lives because we open that too-small box that most people think they live in. We believe news can and should expand a sense of identity and possibility beyond narrow conventional expectations.
Our work isn't possible without your support.
And why we wrote them
( 8 min. read )
Amid unusually high concern about this election, many voters don’t recognize that people on the other side are also deeply worried. And that may be part of the problem.
• Breonna Taylor case: A federal jury convicts a former Kentucky detective of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor the night she was shot by police officers in 2020.
• U.K. border security: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he will double funding for Britain’s border security agency and treat people-smuggling gangs like terror networks, part of efforts to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.
• Nvidia replaces Intel: Nvidia is replacing Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, ending a 25-year run for a pioneering semiconductor company that has fallen behind as Nvidia cornered the market for chips that run artificial intelligence systems.
( 8 min. read )
Since former President Donald Trump’s extralegal efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat, the system has been strengthened in a variety of ways. But a narrow victory by Vice President Kamala Harris could still lead to a drawn-out battle.
( 7 min. read )
Many Americans say they’re concerned about law and order. That often favors Republicans, but voters in the swing state of Georgia show how the issue has extra complexities this year.
( 6 min. read )
For years, Hezbollah confidently assured its Shiite Lebanese base that when the time came, it would robustly defend Lebanon and punish Israel. Now, amid another destructive war, many supporters are losing faith. Can it win them back?
( 4 min. read )
Broad approaches to solve multiple challenges yield results in our progress roundup. In Denver, greener playgrounds satisfied children’s needs and made the air cleaner. In universities worldwide, new galleries spark creativity by showcasing disciplines that rarely share space.
( 2 min. read )
A midsummer survey of attitudes about democracy in more than three dozen African countries captured a common desire reflected in the outcomes of elections all around the world this year. “The evidence suggests that nurturing support for democracy will require strengthening integrity in local government and official accountability,” Afrobarometer stated.
In Botswana, a surprising ballot upset revealed an important factor shaping those aspirations: a breaking down of what one African think tank called a “dependency mindset.”
The small nation in the Kalahari Desert was one of the poorest in Africa when it was established in 1966, but it became over time one of the continent’s most stable and prosperous. The reason was diamonds. Unlike most countries endowed with a singular wealth-generating natural resource, Botswana avoided most of the traps of the “resource curse.” It had dependable tax rules, protections for private priority, and notably little corruption.
But also little agility. The rise of lab-grown diamonds, mostly from China, has set shocks through the industry. Prices are down 6% this year alone, according to international indexes, and are still tumbling. That has compounded conditions in Botswana, where employment has failed to keep pace with a rising new generation. Joblessness has reached 28%, exacerbating income inequality.
Trust has fallen, too. Just 30% of citizens, the Afrobarometer survey found, were satisfied with democracy in Botswana, down from 70% a decade ago.
Last week, voters showed their frustration. They ousted the party that has ruled the southern African nation for 58 years in favor of a new coalition of opposition parties led by a Harvard-educated human rights lawyer. In his first act after taking power Monday, Duma Boko nominated a young economist with an MBA from the Wharton School and a reputation for fighting corruption to be his vice president.
The abundance of a single natural resource can be ruinous. In Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, oil and cobalt have fueled rampant long-term corruption, poverty, and conflict. Some countries are striving to break such dependency. In Saudi Arabia, for example, reforms empowering women in the workplace reflect a shift in both value and values. A country made rich by a finite commodity is cultivating new wealth in a more inclusive workforce.
Mr. Boko has signaled a similar shift. “We are an economy that depends on diamonds. ... So we have to safeguard the goose that lays the golden egg and have some revenue generation while we pursue diversification” of the economy, he said Friday. Like the rest of Africa, Botswana is brimming with a new generation of innovators and entrepreneurs eager for opportunity.
Mr. Boko acknowledged that his election “happened in full view of every citizen of this country with their full participation and endorsement.” That humility and respect for his fellow citizens may enable him to see them as the diamonds of a more diverse and equitable economy.
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.
( 4 min. read )
An openness to the idea that reality isn’t necessarily what it seems to be – is spiritual, not material – brings a spiritual awareness that restores health.
Thank you for joining us today. Please come back to CSMonitor.com tomorrow for our Election 2024 live updates blog.