HOT TOPIC: United Nations
Volume 2, Issue 23 - February 26, 2006"We are living in a world that is shrinking to the point where it's not so much in a global village as it is a global neighborhood, where every neighbor’s actions affect everyone else as quickly as news travels across the backyard fence. When concerns and disagreements arise, neighbors would traditionally work it out amongst themselves. But as issues have become more intricate it has become necessary to have a neighborhood association, aka the United Nations, to step in and help mediate those disagreements in the interest of keeping the neighborhood a cohesive, cooperative place to live.
A century ago when Woodrow Wilson proposed his League of Nations he foresaw the need for this kind of mediation. It grew out of Teddy Roosevelt’s notion of the world needing a “police man” to keep things orderly, but in a more collaborative, non-authoritarian approach. While the League failed to establish itself, a Second World War within twenty years of the first made a compelling argument to try again.
The United Nations has not had an easy row to hoe. Since the inception of the state of Israel in 1947 it has had to deal with an unending flow of diplomatic crises and military conflicts. It was the stage on which the Cold War played itself out and the arbiter for Middle East peace initiatives. From genocide to global pandemics to weapons of mass destruction, the UN remains an organization to which all nations of the world look for leadership and a voice among peers. This week’s D12 features more than a dozen resources on the United nations, ready to use in the classroom."
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