There are so many stories out there in the news today that it is hard to imagine so many negatives exist. The news media wish to sell its product and so pick up the flashy stories about crime and violence. International news is usually about violence and wars with ordinary people suffering. Few people trust our leaders and fewer people believe that governments work for the ordinary citizens.
The United Nations has lost its power because the big 8 power nations act outside the jurisdiction of the UN charter whenever it's not in its interest. When the charter was signed it appeared at that time we would have a world sanctioning body prepared to monitor the affairs of the worlds nations and settle differences that would arise from time to time. Lester B Pearson was one of the great leaders and made considerable impact by establishing the Blue Beret Peace Keeping Force.
The super powers have hi-jacked the UN by having veto power and right today the UN is unable to act against Syria because three of the super powers will not let it happen because it is against its national interest. The democratic process is followed to some degree but when some nations have greater power than others the system fails.
There are so many hot button issues in the world today that it is impossible to act on them as there are divides in the UN and the idea of a world police force is far removed from the UN charter. The UN is effective in providing aid to countries suffering disasters such as the one in Haiti. Even there the flow of relief was slow and mainly ineffective. In African countries where warring populations are in conflict and horrible acts are regularly carried out the UN has no ability to correct the situation.
In spite of all the mess it feels great to live in Canada.
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