"People all over the world, join hands...start a Love Train, Love Train!"

Besides the ACLU, the most hated organization of conservatives seems to be the United Nations. I will be the first to admit that the U.N. has some problems and has made some mistakes...try to find an organization that hasn't. Nevertheless, opposing U.S. participation in the United Nations, and advocating the U.S. withdraw from the United Nations is entirely short sided and fairly blatantly xenophobic, isolationist and ethnocentric.

The United Nations was created with the primary goal of preventing World War III. At that goal, it has performed brilliantly. Has there been World War III? No, there hasn't. The predominate reason for the lack of World War III was the formation and inclusion of an international community and international dialogue. Major wars are avoided when nation states meet and talk constantly with the support or pressure of other nation states.

I love the anti-U.N argument that "the United States participation in the United Nations is a violation of the U.S. Constitution." That sounds like a reasonable argument, except that it's based on nothing. Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution say treaties are the supreme law of the land. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty establishing the United Nations. It's the law...it's provided for in the Constitution...how can it be unconstitutional? Just because you say it so doesn't make it so...

U.S. participation in the United Nations does not remove American sovereignty. Show me an example of where the U.S. was "dooped" into doing something with the U.N. that the U.S. didn't want to participate it...you can't. The U.S. has participated in actions with the United Nations because it has been the right thing to do.

The United States spends about $200 million a year on United Nation dues. The United States spends $400 billion a year the Department of Defense. Our U.N. budget is five one-hundredths of one percent of our DOD budget. How is that overspending? The total U.N. budget in 2001 was $2.53 billion (with an additional $2 billion for peacekeeping missions paid by involved member states)...next to $400 billion spent on weapons (just by the United States of America).

Let's not forget the United Nations family of organizations. Check out the complete list and their responsibilities here.

To quote President Bush, "We live in an global world." Dialogue and cooperation between nations is paramount and critical to a peaceful and progressive world. Cutting the United States off from the community of nations will do nothing but harm the American people.

How do we fight terror, protect human rights, fight AIDS, feed the poor, education children, develop trade and foster goodwill if we take an isolationist approach? Do the conservatives honestly believe that if we ignore the world, the problems of the world will go away?