Restoring Credibility Through International Cooperation
When I was a senior in high school I participated in the model united nations
program. As thousands of students do each year, I chose a country to represent
as part of the student program. In my case I chose Norway, the home of my
mother's ancestors. I was very excited to receive mailings from the Norwegian
embassy, which I diligently researched in order to accurately represent my
country of choice. Sitting in our high school library we passed resolutions to
abide by strategic arms control and non-proliferation issues.
It has been more than twenty years since I participated in that program as a
high school student, and in that time a lot has changed in the world. The cold
war ended with the fall of communism in eastern Europe, the economic engines of
southeast Asia and China have changed the playing field in global politics,
free trade agreements have devastated the American economy and global awareness
has become focused on the dangers of greenhouse gas warming of the planet.
Some things stay the same though, from one decade to the next. Men and women
still fall in love, the birds sing and the bees buzz, the rain falls and the
wind blows, and the United States fails to pay its dues to the United Nations,
year after year, to the tune of some $2.8 billion dollars. According to the
United Nation Association of the USA, the U.S. owed $633 million in arrears to
UN peacekeeping alone and this number is estimated to increase by between $250
million to $1 billion over the course of 2008.
The right wing yak machine loves to discuss the ineffectiveness of the United
Nations on talk radio. Day after day, week after week, the public is bombarded
by arguments against international cooperation and peacemaking. In the
meantime, the Bush administration follows a unilateral approach with regards to
foreign policy. As a result of these twin towers of ignorance and power, the
United States is now perceived internationally as a rogue superpower, willing
and able to ignore international agreements and national sovereignty in the
name of fanatical patriotism and war profiteering.
The United States still has a role to play in the United Nations, but only if
we elect representatives who will respect the historic role that the UN plays
as an agency of first resort for all agreements international. Whether it is
peacekeeping, refugee assistance, development, food aide, nutrition, global
health, disarmament, weapons inspection, disease prevention, global education
or family planning, there is a UN program available to deal with that
situation. The United Nations is an integral element of global peacemaking and
development.
As a candidate for federal office I support full funding of the United Nations
and associated programs. I believe this is the right thing to do, not just for
the international community, but also for the United States. I firmly believe
that the way to restore US credibility in the international community is by
fully paying our dues and supporting the UN in their role as an agency of
international cooperation.
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Chris Lugo for US Senate
9 Music Sq So #164
Nashville, TN 37203
615-593-0304
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.voteforpeace.info
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