Who’s Working Hard for Peace? (Part 3)
In the popular imagination, the United Nations is an international joke. If you mention this organization in a political debate, you are sure to hear snorts of derision in response. Well, okay, they probably deserve it. The organization was formed by the victorious nations in the aftermath of World War II, and while they have helped to prevent a third World War (so far) and have promoted economic development around the world, they have also failed to prevent a depressing number of damaging wars, genocidal campaigns and humanitarian disasters. Most people consider the United Nations a bloated and ineffective mess, and it’s hard to say whether they’re completely wrong or not.
But four United Nations peacekeepers were killed in Lebanon today, and that adds some perspective. As bad as the U. N.’s record has been, it seems unfair to expect them to succeed so easily. Humans have been waging war and oppressing each other for a long time. The U. N. has had sixty years. Most importantly, the United Nations is all we’ve got. We’re better off with them than without them, and maybe every once in a while they’ll even manage to do something (okay, probably not, but we can hope).
Given its makeup, it’s unlikely that the United Nations will break the bounds of bureaucratic inertia and begin to act decisively any time soon. One would think, though, that this organization would manage to inspire greater worldwide discussion and debate. This has been one of the U.N.’s great unspoken failures. How often have you heard of a useful international debate taking place inside these lush walls? A book of “Famous Speeches Made at the U.N.” would be surprisingly thin. In a world that badly needs global understanding, it’s incomprehensible that the United Nations does not manage to present any useful public dialogue at all.
Overall, the United Nations scores a lot higher on the peacemaker report card than either the politicians or the religious leaders of the world. They earn a C+, easily, which is the first passing grade we’ve seen this week. Tomorrow I’ll talk about a few other groups: non-profit organizations like Amnesty International and the Red Cross, writers and artists and musicians, bloggers and journalists.
July 30th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
The UN is the greatest of mankind’s achievements - just scream that impassionedly to whoever is listening. When we allow ourselves to be victims of Rupert Murdoch-type propaganda, the dark side wins. Writers must win the war of words, if nothing else. It is the crucial first step toward winning the war of ideas.
August 1st, 2006 at 7:20 am
Let me throw out a little known fact that the powers to be don’t want people to come to terms with:
The 20th century alone saw some 86 million people killed as a direct result of war alone.
That’s 3x the amount of people killed in wars from the time of Christ until 1899.
Think of all those people this way: Imagine if soldiers came to your neighborhood and rounded up 100 people every hour and shot them dead. 100 people every hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for some 100 years. That’s how many people have been killed in war in this century - most of them civilians, as opposed to soldiers.
I know, everybody says there are more people now than in the past.
But it seems to me that just means more people to kill.
The UN is a joke.
August 1st, 2006 at 9:16 am
Steve — I’m with you all the way, until the last sentence.
Do you blame this on the UN? A large proportion of the deaths you speak of occurred in World War I and World War II. The UN was formed at the end of World War II.
August 1st, 2006 at 7:55 pm
[…] The United Nations […]
August 3rd, 2006 at 6:28 am
Well, you are right about that, but still, millions have died as a result of war, malnutrition, etc. since WWII, and the UN is ’supposed’ to stop that.
I’m not saying their charter isn’t a good idea, they just can’t seem to accomplish it.