Why the U.S. Needs the United Nations
When sometimes one is given a question, thought is not required. Rather, history can answer with the loudest voice. The United States has proven time and time again to be the most powerful nation on earth, yet this nation does not abuse its power. It believes in righteousness and peace and only disputes when injustice is spawn. America does not turn away when another nation is in danger. It seeks to set wrongs right. With this position, America carries not a burden but a voluntary responsibility. It chooses to free people and maintain a world safe for democracy. Only when that goal is achieved may war only be experienced through history texts.
Too many people of too many countries have suffered due to the tensions of conflicting governments that later catapult into hellish combat. There are only grave loses from war, nothing is gained, except torment and mortality. When will there be peace? The US is humane enough to answer this with a pledge to prevent war.
It cannot be accomplished alone. Support is needed from all nations into one common alliance striving for peace. That is the United Nations. It was US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill themselves who initiated this world organization.
The United Nations not only performs peacekeeping activities and delivers humanitarian aid to distant countries, but it has a direct influence on all of our lives, every person everywhere in the world. The UN protects human rights, promotes protection of the environment, helps the advancement of women and children rights, battles epidemics, hunger, and poverty. Throughout the world the UN helps refugees, helps improve telecommunications, delivers food aid, protects consumers, make loans to developing countries and helps stabilize finanicial markets.
The United States particularly feels responsible for all of these duties, whether the UN exists or not. Somewhere along the line, the US has become the police force of the world. If the world is kept secure, then international problems can be solved before the water ripples. But, aggressive situations cannot be pacified with polite words in a conference hall. Military force and financial funds are needed in the process of securing peace. Obviously, the US has its own nation to run, it won't abandon its country to save others.
As stronger nations exercise their control over weaker ones, the United States try to prove their authority, power and control over weaker nations seeing them as unable to handle their own issues thereby, imposing their ideology on them. And if any of these weaker nations try to resist, then the wrath of the United States will come upon them. In overthrow the author Stephen Kinzer tells how Americans used different means to overthrow foreign government. He explains that the campaign & ideology of anti- communism made Americans believe that it was their right and historical obligation to lead forces of good against those of iniquity. They also overthrew foreign government, when economic interest coincided with their ideological ones (kinzer.215). These factors were the reasons behind America’s intervention in Iran, Guatemala, South Vietnam and Chile to control and protect multinational companies as well as the campaign against communism with little or no knowledge about these countries.
The United States today, both militarily and economically, is the strongest force in the world. In order to get to that point, however, the United States had to pull of the miracle upset in its infancy stages against the reigning super power of the time in what would become to be known as the American Revolution. This was not an actual revolution for there was not a political overhaul with an exception to who now collected the taxes. This instead was a rebellion against the British by people who largely considered them selves to be British. The new American government was even modeled after the British government. In fact, many Americans did not want war but instead just wanted to have the same rights as a British man. They felt like their
every nation in the world belongs to the United Nations. The United Nations has four purposes: to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights; and to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations.The United Nations is not a world government though,and it does not make laws.
Following World War I, President Woodrow Wilson became the mastermind for the creation of an international organization (Dudley 72). Eventually he was successful in the creation of the League of Nations and fighting for it to become a part of the Treaty of Versailles (Dudley 72). Although the League became a point in the Treaty of Versailles, the United States still had to ratify the Treaty to become a part of the League themselves (Dudley 76). Americans became split about whether the United States should have a place in the League or not, and the U.S. Senate had a decision to make (Dudley 76). On one side of the argument was a Democratic senator of California, James D. Phelan (Dudley 74). Mr. Phelan believed that the United States should join the League of Nations because it is the duty of the U.S. to uphold our ideals and support Democracy (Dudley 76). However, on the opposing side of this argument was people like Lawrence Sherman, a Republican senator from Illinois (Dudley 76). Mr. Sherman felt that the United States should not join the League of Nations because that would go against the policies of isolationism he felt the U.S. should follow, and he believed that the League of Nations would bring America too much into the conflicts of Europe (Dudley 76).
Throughout history, America has had its hand in conflict with other countries. Some of those conflicts have turned into wars. Looking back at America’s “track record” with war, America has a worthy past of having its citizen’s support. Obviously the two World Wars are not controversial. The United States in the Korean War was criticized, fairly, for its strategy, but the need to defend South Korea was never questioned.
...ndships need to be formed. Peace-making can be illustrated by the nations stopping the fighting between each other. They can live at peace with each other and help support each other. Realistically speaking, this is not expected.
future shaped by wars. The side who win the battle shape the sole future of their opponent. This can also be related with the quote of Winston Churchill “History is written by the victors”. While indicating the League of Nations I claimed that absence of United States of America created emptiness over authority. This does not mean that United States creates the sole authority by itself still, without United States there isn’t a neutral country with a powerful military force left in League. The League cannot establish checks and balances system in itself that’s why decisions upon pre World War II period leaned to the victors of World War I. United Nations establish its check system on the countries by the support of super powers. We can see its example of Korean War in United Nations Security Council Resolution 84. Security Council with the resolution 84 recommended the member countries of the United Nations provide such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be compulsory to repel the attack and re-establish peace and security. Security Council with that decision establish the United Nations Command under the leadership of United States of America to stop the North Korea’s advancement and drive back them to north of 38th Parallel. This was the first time an army established among the decision of United Nations. But, this event leads us on this question will United Nations able to stop a conflict if the conflict started or conducted by a super power like United States or Russian Federation. The answer can be found in recent events. With the annexation of Crimea by Russian Federation, Vetoes of People’s Republic of China and Russian Federations on the Security Council’s resolution on condemning Syrian government and taking immediate action towards the Syrian Civil War or France’s role on preventing United Nation’s help to prevent genocide on Rwanda. These examples show us that United Nations cannot act beyond
question now is, when do we have an obligation to strive towards peace when it
On this planet there is only the one sure way to ensure peace, government. Luckily throughout history there have been big societies that helped countries establish governments of their own. One of the biggest and well shaped government is the democracy of the United States of America. The U.S. had two societies in particular to look to for guidance, and those two were ancient Greece and ancient Rome.
The United Nations was formed on October 24, 1945, after the Holocaust, to prevent genocide from ever happening again. A cartoon depicted by Michael Sutherland illustrates the unsuccessful intent of the United Nations. The United Nations is pictured standing over the graves of countries and groups that have suffered from genocide. However, many genocides have taken place since the formation of the United Nations (i.e. the Bosnian genocide). Both genocides began as simple misconceptions or dislikes between peoples but ended in tragic and unnecessary murder.
...ll its own personal goals. Personal agendas will perhaps always trump UN nation building but the more aware the UN is of this perhaps the more it will be able to use this in some way to force cooperation in the Security Council.
The Security Council of the United Nations has the primary responsibility under the United Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.
...wed for it to write the rules of the game, create well established institutions that are respected by the majority worldwide, and have inspired other countries to follow in its footsteps in search of their own version of the “American Dream”. However, the decisions that generated that American prosperity were based on the notion that concessions, accountability and investment towards the future were crucial for its later success. As seen in hindsight, somewhere throughout history, this message became heavily influence by personal gains and short term gratification. If the United States wants continue as a key player, it will need to solve its domestic qualms with in turn have and continue to affect the international community. Military dominance, cultural influence and innovation cannot sustain itself in an environment that lacks stability and long term planning.
In 2015, President Barack Obama addressed the United Nations General Assembly and talked about the significance the United Nations has had since its creation in 1945, claiming: “This institution [U.N.] was founded because men and women who came before us had the foresight to know that our nations are more secure when we uphold basic laws and basic norms, and pursue a path of cooperation over conflict. And strong nations, above all, have a responsibility to uphold this international order.” President Obama argues that the U.N. is the glue which holds the international system together and promotes mutually beneficial outcomes for the world. The fact that an international organization (IO) such as the U.N. has endured for over 70 years is some
The UN has made strides toward and continues to fight for world peace, but this however is not the only function of the agency. Environmental protection, Human rights, health and medical research, alleviation of poverty and economic development, emergency and disaster relief, and labor and workers' rights are just a sample of what the UN continues to battle as the year 2000 approaches.