Utopian ideals are unrealistic
WC Editorial Board
Issue date: 9/25/09 Section: Opinion
Theodore Roosevelt once said we should "speak softly and carry a big stick." Today it seems that idea has warped into something that sounds more like "speak loudly and carry as many sticks as possible."
When the United Nations converged on New York City Wednesday, the idea of world peace floated there, as world leaders spoke about global responsibility and the disarmament of nuclear weapons.
For good or ill, it was quite a show.
President Obama took the stand with his first address to the U.N. General assembly and said, "those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone," calling all nations to unite.
Sure, world peace sounds romantic. Imagine a world without the threat and fear of nuclear weapons, a world where people stand proud under their government, rather than afraid, wondering if they'll be alive when better days finally arrive.
The WC feels it's idealistic, but not realistic, especially with the tools we have before us, both literally and metaphorically. No one wants to drop the sticks.
There's no trust, only stubbornness and the will to be top dog. This is human nature materialized through politics. Let's point our fingers at everyone but ourselves.
According to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the US possesses a worldview centered on "aggression, occupation and deception."
This is coming from a man who doesn't describe his weapons in terms of how far they travel in miles; he simply states whether or not they can reach Israel. He denies that the holocaust ever happened.
Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi claimed the H1/N1 virus was a military conspiracy, called for new investigations into the assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. and demanded European countries repay African countries for their colonial takeovers.
He added that the U.N. Security Council is more of a "Terror Council." He likes to tear things in half, such as copies of the U.N. Charter. These antics lend themselves to being adapted into an A-roll, big-screen comedy.
North Korea's Kim Jong-il has repeatedly denied the disbandment of nuclear weapons and technology. It seems that all world leaders want the same thing: peace. However, in this global climate, there is too much opposition.
Nations have surrendered economic sovereignty, while those with the big sticks resist putting them down. If certain world leaders remain in such an inflexible position, it will only lead to war.
As citizens, we are only being strung along by these old, stubborn men pushing an agenda we can't readily identify. We are living in an Orwellian world where the cry for peace is war, the display of ignorance is strength and the pursuit of freedom is slavery.
When the United Nations converged on New York City Wednesday, the idea of world peace floated there, as world leaders spoke about global responsibility and the disarmament of nuclear weapons.
For good or ill, it was quite a show.
President Obama took the stand with his first address to the U.N. General assembly and said, "those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone," calling all nations to unite.
Sure, world peace sounds romantic. Imagine a world without the threat and fear of nuclear weapons, a world where people stand proud under their government, rather than afraid, wondering if they'll be alive when better days finally arrive.
The WC feels it's idealistic, but not realistic, especially with the tools we have before us, both literally and metaphorically. No one wants to drop the sticks.
There's no trust, only stubbornness and the will to be top dog. This is human nature materialized through politics. Let's point our fingers at everyone but ourselves.
According to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the US possesses a worldview centered on "aggression, occupation and deception."
This is coming from a man who doesn't describe his weapons in terms of how far they travel in miles; he simply states whether or not they can reach Israel. He denies that the holocaust ever happened.
Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi claimed the H1/N1 virus was a military conspiracy, called for new investigations into the assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. and demanded European countries repay African countries for their colonial takeovers.
He added that the U.N. Security Council is more of a "Terror Council." He likes to tear things in half, such as copies of the U.N. Charter. These antics lend themselves to being adapted into an A-roll, big-screen comedy.
North Korea's Kim Jong-il has repeatedly denied the disbandment of nuclear weapons and technology. It seems that all world leaders want the same thing: peace. However, in this global climate, there is too much opposition.
Nations have surrendered economic sovereignty, while those with the big sticks resist putting them down. If certain world leaders remain in such an inflexible position, it will only lead to war.
As citizens, we are only being strung along by these old, stubborn men pushing an agenda we can't readily identify. We are living in an Orwellian world where the cry for peace is war, the display of ignorance is strength and the pursuit of freedom is slavery.
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