Washington, the rest of us--world apart

So much has changed since my days in Congress. During my twenty years of service as a member of the House of Representatives, never did I witness such overwhelming meanspiritedness and xenophobic isolationism as seems to characterize the present Congress. The New York Times labeled this action "Foreign-Policy Vandalism"-with their editorial board writing:

"In an extreme example of legislative irresponsibility, the House of Representatives on Thursday abruptly killed the carefully negotiated compromise on the United States' delinquent (over $1 billion) dues to the United Nations." The White House characterized these actions as "utterly boneheaded"-and I believe we World Federalists share this opinion. How could our elected officials on Capitol Hill have made such an ill-conceived decision? The poll reported on in the Chicago Tribune paints a telling picture of how bad things are.

For example: "The Washington elite think only 14% of the public wants to strengthen the U.N. In fact, 83% of those polled say they do." And: The Washington elite believe that only 8% of Americans desire a more multilateral approach to international problems, while 89% of the public actually wants this.

The poll also sheds light on the Congressional backlash against U.N. funding: Washingtonians only perceived an 11% approval rating for paying our outstanding back dues to the U.N. The actual public support for this is 58%. With those inside the Washington "Beltway" so in the dark on America's foreign policy opinions, it is no wonder we continue to see one frustrating action after another by our Congress.

Obviously we have our work cut out for us in reaching our leaders with the views so many of us share. An overwhelming majority of Americans want a strong, effective U.N., able to address global problems which nations cannot solve alone. That is why the work of the World Federalist Association is so important. Each month our national activist program, Partners for Global Change, takes a concrete action on a single issue-such as promoting the International Criminal Court, ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, enhanced and improved U.N. Peacekeeping and Conflict Prevention, and of course, United Nations funding.

Just weeks prior to this latest Congressional misstep, WFA co-sponsored vigils in nearly 50 cities around the country to draw attention to the funding crisis facing the global body. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan thanked the World Federalists by name in his message to vigil participants. The World Federalist Association needs to strengthen the global-minded leadership our country needs as we enter the 21 st Century. *

John B. Anderson is President of the World Federalist Association's Campaign for Global Change, 418 7th St. SE, Washington, D.C. 10003. John Anderson ran for the office of President of the United States a few years ago.

Copyright The Human Quest Mar/Apr 1998
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