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May 13, 2004

Who Are Those People, and What Do They Want?

John Hawkins has put together a short FAQ for liberals about what conservatives believe. I've had a few conversations recently in which the ability to direct an acquaintance to this particular answer would have been useful:

Well, how about the United Nations? Aren't they the good guys? How can conservatives have a problem with them?: The UN is a corrupt, incompetent, toothless, largely anti-American and anti-semitic organization, where dictatorships and global small fry have an inordinate amount of power and influence. That is reason enough to hold the organization in contempt. But, more importantly, conservatives believe that the United Nations often tries to insert itself in matters of US law, put itself above the US Constitution, and chip away at the sovereignty of the United States. That is simply intolerable.

One warning: a variant of John's answer is likely to represent the first time many people who get their information from mainstream sources will have heard such a string of accusations. Be gentle as you turn folks' world upside down.

Posted by Justin Katz at May 13, 2004 11:38 PM
Liberalism vs. Conservatism
Comments

For a somewhat different take on the United Nations, see this address:

http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/pope0264du.htm

An excerpt:

"It is an honor for me to have the opportunity to address this international Assembly and to join the men and women of every country, race, language and culture in celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations Organization. In coming before this distinguished Assembly, I am vividly aware that through you I am in some way addressing the whole family of peoples living on the face of the earth. My words are meant as a sign of the interest and esteem of the Apostolic See and of the Catholic Church for this Institution. They echo the voices of all those who see in the United Nations the hope of a better future for human society."

Posted by: David at May 17, 2004 4:19 PM

David,

It's one thing to discuss "ideals and goals," and the Holy Father is entirely correct (if I may presume to decree) to seek to work with an international organization that offers some hope for progress. Still, a whole lot has happened since 1995, and I think it incumbent upon us, in our capacity as American citizens, to be frank about the reality of what the U.N. has become — if for no other reason than that such an approach is the only way to arrest the spiral into corruption of the institution.

Posted by: Justin Katz at May 18, 2004 10:50 PM

I'm sure that the Holy Father and the Curia are none too happy with a tremendous amount of things that the U.N. and its sister organizations have done--particularly with regards to population policy.

But it seems imprudent to simply cut the organization off at the knees. If, like Mr. Hawkins, we denounce the organization as "corrupt, etc.", we stand less of a chance of reforming it.

Did Hawkins say all of this in order to reform the organization? Or simply to declare it anathema?

We could probably find any number of things that the United States government has done that were corrupt, incompetent, toothless, anti-semitic, etc. Should we treat our own government with contempt and withdraw into our own little sovereignties?

Why not try to use the U.N. to do the good things that it can do, AND use its protocols and rules and our reasoned voices in order to effectively blunt what bad it may try to do?

Posted by: David at May 19, 2004 10:31 PM

David,

You make good points. I've reached the point, however, of believing that, between internal corruption of the organization and external impressions of it either as faultless or irredeemable, the sorts of reforms necessary aren't possible within the U.N. as currently constituted.

Posted by: Justin Katz at May 22, 2004 12:08 AM