I meant to post this yesterday, but October 24th was the 62nd birthday of the United Nations. Until sometime in late middle school I thought Kofi Annan was more important and powerful than the President of the United States, and part of me still can't let go of that as a normative goal. I know right now supporting the United Nations is very out of fashion. Even at my idealistic college, there was always someone who snorted when there was a serious discussion about UN policy or legitimacy.
As I'm going through the endnotes, I have moments where I feel very conflicted about the UN. I've studied ethnic conflict for the last four years, and I still can't read about Srebenica without wanting to cry. I guess I get swept up in a vision of what the UN could be, and frustrated with all the constraints it is hobgobbled by. I don't know enough (and haven't lived long enough) to evaluate all the merits and flaws of the UN, but I do believe we need a global organization to facilitate cooperation and develop international standards and laws, and it's better to work with what we have than start over.
A quick list of things I think the UN should be celebrating:
-Being a clearing house of easily accessible information about important trends around the world. (The Human Development Index is amazing. Before wikipedia, it was my favorite procrastination tool.)
-promoting self-determination before it was a given
-successfully helping Cambodia transit from decades of violence into a stable democracy
-leading the effort to end apartheid in South Africa
-prosecuting war criminals
-formulating international standards
-running refugee camps
-eradicating smallpox and helping contain epidemics like SARS
-serving as a forum for important conversation and collaboration, from fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS to climate change
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