A poll was taken to determine, among 28 different countries, the level of trust their citizens and government had for the United Nations. In other words, which countries trusted the United Nations to do the right thing when it comes to world affairs?
Play Badly with Others
Surprisingly, at the high end of the scale, we have China at 76%, Kenya at 77%, and India at 77%, and why not? China and India have been given free passes when it comes to any stewardship on their part in protecting the environment. Advocates in the U.S. can rail about green energy until they're green in the face, but if China and India aren’t willing to meet targets that the rest of the world commits to, it will be to no avail.
China sits on several prestigious committees despite they subjugate their people in both subtle and non-subtle ways. The panopticon in China is a vast network of cameras in major cities that spy on individuals 24/7. China's social credit scoring system nudges people towards behaviors that the Chinese government wants, while making it seem as if people are earning small rewards here and there for “doing the right thing.”
If you've ever read about the social credit system in China, you'll find it sickening. Everything in China is paid for by cell phone now, not even the smallest item that would otherwise require pocket change. Hence, China has a total record of what everybody purchases, essentially where everybody goes, and more so, can assemble a complete lifestyle pattern.
How Do We Feel?
Where does the U.S. fall in terms of satisfaction that the U.N. will do the right thing in the affairs of Nations? We're at 50%, fourth from the bottom. Japan is the lowest at 38% tied with Argentina at 38%. Then comes Italy at 48%. Many other nations fall someplace between 52% and the high 60s including Australia at 52%, Canada at 54%, the U.K. at 57%, Brazil at 59%, the Netherlands at 60%, Mexico at 61%, Sweden at 63% and Indonesia at 65%.
Any survey can be manipulated in ways that skew the results. Nevertheless, as a relative measure, this survey conducted by Edelman Trust Institute, does offer revealing information. If countries such as Nigeria at 71%, and Thailand at 75% are pleased about how the U.N. operates, this tells us more about the U.N., than about the individual countries.
Many in the U.S. have long regarded the U.N. as less than effective than it could be, and still others want to pull out all together. The U.N.’s treatment of Israel has been abhorrent. Israel was not in this particular survey, but other data suggest that Israel has no confidence that the U.N. does the right thing in the affairs of nations.
The Constant Scapegoat
Israel is routinely picked on for various sins that pale by comparison to what China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and other rogue nations around the world routinely engage in. The U.S., Israel's closest and most important ally, also suffers from low approval ratings from countries as a result of our support for Israel.
Yet, while Israel is the size of Massachusetts, and the Middle East taken as a whole is far larger than the United States, nobody seems to have room to take in the Palestinians. For some reason, they have to be forced to fit into a tiny territory.
When Daniel Moynihan was our representative to the U.N., engaging dialogue took place. U.N. representatives worked long hours to understand each other and come to international agreements. Many things did not work out so well, but they tried.
Today so much is merely rubber-stamped, and so much of man's inhumanity to man goes un-scolded, that you wonder why the organization continues to meet. The running joke in New York is you can't find a hooker during the time that the U.N. is in session, an Uber or Lyft ride, or a hotel room anywhere near the U.N. building.
Dissolve or Rebuild?
I don't want to see this organization dissolve, and certainly, it doesn't deserve the fate of the League of Nations, Woodrow Wilson's brainchild of many decades ago. Still, something has got to change in the foreseeable future. New leadership will help, but new initiatives and less castigation of Israel will go a long way.
When the whole world is ganged up on one small country, which is working vigorously to ensure its survival, you know that some large problems are in store.