I'm impatient, for the world to be a better place than it is, and for the U.S. to be a better place than it is.
I've watched and studied the U.S. journey from imperialist to isolationist and back to imperialist again. Along the way, blessed with visionary leaders, we experimented with multilateralism in NATO and at least considered the notion of globalism with the U.N.
But, in the end, it seems we have rejected globalism, and we have defiled the U.N. We use the organization demagogically when it suits our ends, and we ridicule it, or worse, when it doesn't.
I am a citizen of the world, and I understand why I need organizations like the U.N.. The U.N. is our attempt at global government, and the world needs governing. There are cross-border externalities which cannot effectively be managed by bilateral treaties (pollution comes to mind), and there are worthy undertakings for the less fortunate which we support.
During the Bush Administration, a hating of the U.N. has come to the fore. Americans have known about the vile Rush Limbaugh-Timothy McVeigh "black helicopter" message for some time, and now George Bush has made this hatemongering official U.S. policy. And, we now know that for four years now we have not only sabotaged the U.N. at every turn, we have intercepted all phone conversations and correspondence emanating from U.N. headquarters and member nation's embassies in New York, developing Hoover-esque dossiers on intransigent U.N leaders and ambassadors to use in blackmail.
We are playing more than the "bully" here. We are playing Nazi.
The rest of the world's citizens, farther advanced sociologically than we are, are highly supportive of the U.N.. Yet, amazingly, I have heard no talk of the U.N. moving. I strongly feel the world is better off with a vibrant U.N., and a U.N. beholden to vile right-wing corporate interests here and subject to Republican jack-booted strong-arming is antithetical to its charter or to its necessary function in modern global society.
So, I believe the U.N. should move to Geneve and reclaim its footing in a more erudite and fair-minded setting than the U.S. U.N. leaders and ambassadors are entitled to our respect, including being able to converse in private, such is the delicate nature of their work.
Such a move of the U.N. would perhaps devastate the NYC economy. And, here is a remarkable item about Bush Republicans, the slime that they are. Neither Rudi Giuliani nor Michael Bloomberg, New York City's last two mayors, have said one word criticizing the Bush Administration for UN-bashing or the surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations.
Every city in the world would jump at the chance to host the U.N. General Assembly. The contributions to the local real estate market are extraordinary. And there are thousands of highly paid jobs that go along with it. Geneve is a natural choice, given the large infrastructure the U.N. already has there as well as Switzerland's history of neutrality and credibility in terms of a fair "no espionage" agreement.
I'm sad to recommend this, but I am a citizen of the world, and I need for the U.N. to thrive and prosper to make the world a better place for my two young children.