SENATE BILL 107
S.107 - A bill to prohibit voluntary or assessed contributions to the United Nations until the President
certifies to Congress that United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 has been repealed
S.107 - A bill to prohibit voluntary or assessed contributions to the United Nations until the President
certifies to Congress that United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 has been repealed
On January 12th, just 10 days into the 115th Congress, Senator Ted Cruz introduced Senate Bill 107 (S. 107), which if passed will defund the United Nations.
In this new era of American politics, I felt the need to remind myself of why the UN was created originally and to refresh my memory of all the good that the UN does around the world that is so valuable to people in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. In the past few days, I watched several horrific videos showing the human misery of World War II with piles of corpses, mothers holding the mutilated bodies of their children, and Jewish camp prisoners pressed against barbed-wire fences with their ribs visible through their skin. I read scholarly analysis about how wars start and, specifically, how World War II started, and I read speeches and first-hand accounts of people who were committed to working for a post-war peace that would last indefinitely.
George Marshall’s speech was interesting in its brief but thorough depiction of the state the world was in in the aftermath of the war. Most interesting to me was reading through Eleanor Roosevelt’s “My Day” diary accounts that she published 6 days a week from 1936 to 1962.
In 1952, Ms. Roosevelt spoke at the Democratic National Convention to urge support for the United Nations. In that speech, not only did she speak of all the good the United Nations does, she also spoke of the small but influential group of people who at the time were actively working to eliminate the newly formed United Nations. She said, “I warn you against shortsighted and selfish men who are trying to distort the vision of the American people. These men who lack vision are poor in hope. They turn their backs on the future and live in the past. They seek to weaken and destroy this world organization. They are expressing a selfish, destructive approach which leads not to peace but to chaos and might eventually lead to World War III.”
Reading Eleanor Roosevelt’s words from 1952, it is impossible not to think of Ted Cruz and the elected officials of both parties in Congress who are supporters of the S. 107 effort to destroy the United Nations. To oppose the UN is to oppose an organization that has Peace and Stability as its primary mission. To oppose the UN is to oppose an organization that provides relief to populations recovering from natural disasters. To oppose the UN is to oppose an organization that provides medicines to millions of people who would suffer miserably and die otherwise. To oppose the UN is to oppose an organization that stands between opposing armies to protect civilian from harm. To oppose the UN is to oppose an organization that hurries to West Africa to contain the spread of Ebola.
The UN houses millions of people displaced by war and natural destruction. The UN feeds millions of people who would otherwise die from starvation. The UN advocates for gender equality, democratic governance, and stable monetary policies. The UN works to protect human and animal habitats. The UN builds schools and provides education to millions of people who would otherwise go uneducated.
It is important to keep in mind that the UN operates in a way that spends a small amount of money now to maintain a functioning civil society in order to save the financial cost and the cost of human suffering later when order breaks down into chaos.
Use the Learning Resources on this page to learn more about S. 107 and more about the UN does to promote Peace and Stability around the world.
In this new era of American politics, I felt the need to remind myself of why the UN was created originally and to refresh my memory of all the good that the UN does around the world that is so valuable to people in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. In the past few days, I watched several horrific videos showing the human misery of World War II with piles of corpses, mothers holding the mutilated bodies of their children, and Jewish camp prisoners pressed against barbed-wire fences with their ribs visible through their skin. I read scholarly analysis about how wars start and, specifically, how World War II started, and I read speeches and first-hand accounts of people who were committed to working for a post-war peace that would last indefinitely.
George Marshall’s speech was interesting in its brief but thorough depiction of the state the world was in in the aftermath of the war. Most interesting to me was reading through Eleanor Roosevelt’s “My Day” diary accounts that she published 6 days a week from 1936 to 1962.
In 1952, Ms. Roosevelt spoke at the Democratic National Convention to urge support for the United Nations. In that speech, not only did she speak of all the good the United Nations does, she also spoke of the small but influential group of people who at the time were actively working to eliminate the newly formed United Nations. She said, “I warn you against shortsighted and selfish men who are trying to distort the vision of the American people. These men who lack vision are poor in hope. They turn their backs on the future and live in the past. They seek to weaken and destroy this world organization. They are expressing a selfish, destructive approach which leads not to peace but to chaos and might eventually lead to World War III.”
Reading Eleanor Roosevelt’s words from 1952, it is impossible not to think of Ted Cruz and the elected officials of both parties in Congress who are supporters of the S. 107 effort to destroy the United Nations. To oppose the UN is to oppose an organization that has Peace and Stability as its primary mission. To oppose the UN is to oppose an organization that provides relief to populations recovering from natural disasters. To oppose the UN is to oppose an organization that provides medicines to millions of people who would suffer miserably and die otherwise. To oppose the UN is to oppose an organization that stands between opposing armies to protect civilian from harm. To oppose the UN is to oppose an organization that hurries to West Africa to contain the spread of Ebola.
The UN houses millions of people displaced by war and natural destruction. The UN feeds millions of people who would otherwise die from starvation. The UN advocates for gender equality, democratic governance, and stable monetary policies. The UN works to protect human and animal habitats. The UN builds schools and provides education to millions of people who would otherwise go uneducated.
It is important to keep in mind that the UN operates in a way that spends a small amount of money now to maintain a functioning civil society in order to save the financial cost and the cost of human suffering later when order breaks down into chaos.
Use the Learning Resources on this page to learn more about S. 107 and more about the UN does to promote Peace and Stability around the world.