This Moment's News

There is a wonderfully objective way to investigate what's happening on our planet - right now. By clicking to Google's World News, one arrives at a collection of reports on today's major events.

What makes this assemblage unique is that it is generated by computer algorithms, not by humans. Sure, humans designed the software, but they claim to have done so with utter objectivity in mind, without regard to political or ideological bias. So not only can we learn what is happening at the moment, but we also have the opportunity to read contrasting reports on each event.

If you will, try to determine which story is the truest account. Does such a spectrum of opinion necessarily give you a more balanced view of the world? Consider how open you are to reading -- much less welcoming -- an interpretation you might passionately disagree with.

We congratulate Google for this resource. It encourages all of us to listen better, perhaps also to realize again that disagreement is a healthy, necessary, inevitable part of the human drama. As we learn to consider opposing opinions more deeply, so too may we remember that any violence is antithetical to every peace.