[Calliope]: 216.Essays.Secretary General Speech

Secretary General Speech

  Good evening supporters, opponents, great leaders and fellow members. I, Angie O’Connor, am incredibly honoured to be addressing such a vast group of the world’s most prestigious, respected, and influential members of today’s society. To be blessed with the privilege of representing you all is an even greater honour that I hope to prove capable of handling with great dexterity. It is within my hopes and gains to improve this grand organization and to help it achieve is broad goals. The potential we hold within our hands is capable of bringing what we know to its knees and, from the dust this raises, create a world to be proud of, a world we aren’t afraid of defending. Throughout my speech, I will bring to voice a variety of my questions, not only in hopes of gaining answers for them, but in hope of having them better recognized by all of us.

  The United Nations has had its moments in the spot light, just as it has had its moments in the gutter. I stand by my belief of this being a natural occurrence and not something to base judgment on. We do, and will always have room for improvement for thus is the course of progress. By embracing progress, we are embracing our willingness to improve ourselves, this is an essential motivator. Other organizations are beginning to doubt our efficiency. Separate groups do not believe that our successes outweigh our costs. I ask all of you who think this, what are your priorities? If money fuels your interests than you should not carry a title that hosts any indication of you being a humanitarian organization.

  A look at our application techniques does find much to be wanting. I believe that reform is needed in order to better our approach to conflict. In the past instances have arisen that could be easily avoided. Instances such as Palestine in 1947-1949, which lead to the creation of Israel and the corresponding wars over it: instances like Bosnia in 1995, which put a bad light on peacekeeping. It is the fact that we cling to old ideals instead of using our own discretion that has lead us to failure in many cases. It is obvious that, when in a hostile zone, we cannot afford to maintain a peaceful demeanor unless fired upon. We must be willing to grasp initiative and recognize when the proper time to enforce it is. As the situation changes, so must our perception and solution for it.

  Change is necessary to support anything. A foundation cannot continue to support a building year after year without being continually contributed to in order to assist in its upkeep. The same goes for the United Nations’ foundation. We are based on the concept of cooperation to gain peace and promote humanity. Our goal is to better the globe, this doesn’t mean it will always better our countries. I find that our greatest fault lies, not solely in the application of our standards, but the fact that we are blinding ourselves. We delude ourselves about the severity of many situations solely to keep our minds at peace and to better support our nation’s problems. Many of our major contributors of funds feel that they are being unfairly represented; I ask these nations, what is your purpose for joining this global organization?

  The United Nations is a group devoted to promoting better global living. It has contributed in many sectors that include, immunizations and elimination small pox, improving global trade, providing humanitarian aid, promoting human rights, reducing infant mortality rates, etc., etc. These are actions that require sufficient funds. When you gain the title of super power, whether it be in the past, present, or future it is a title that represents your influence and your monetary situation. It is a situation all nations bear with pride, until the time comes for them to contribute their part and they desert pride just to shirk their payments. Here they more often than not, abandon the causes they so vociferously spoke of just a short while ago in order to support weaker, money based reasons. As William Shakespeare once took it upon himself to say, “Strong reasons make strong actions.” By turning their backs on the noble actions of this organization, countries are embracing weaker morals. This is a façade that needs much remodeling in my opinion.

  There are nations out there, devoting, not funds, but human lives. People are coming forward that are dedicating their careers to our causes. They are willfully and knowledgably putting their lives on the line all for peace. I ask all of you seated here today, what is all the money your nation is required to contribute compared to the loss of one life while striving for the greater good? We need to reorganize our lists, resume our original cooperation, and reacquaint ourselves with the true reason this organization was created. This is necessary so that we can prevent a reoccurrence of the dire circumstances that lead to the growth of this union of great nations. I propose we raise ourselves back to our former promise and once again, shine light on humanity. I sincerely hope you will assist me in this cause and look forward to all your contributions.

  Thank you.

© Angie O'Connor