Vinka Ljubimir, Croatian psychologist and journalist wrote an interesting column for the readers of CUNA website. The topic of this column is “United Nations – Path To Survival”.
Hans Rosling, Swedish medical doctor, academic and statistician in the BBC documentary “Don’t Panic – The Truth About Population”, shown in November 2013., as in many other talks and papers, expresses his somewhat optimistic view of the world and proves that it is (still) possible to overcome the problems of world poverty, population growth, early mortality and the effects of global warming. But to achieve these goals the world must be united and act in coordination.
We are all increasingly aware that the current way of life and its values have long-term negative consequences and that we need to drastically change our thinking and behaviour. Why do the owners and shareholders of global corporations expect each quarter more income, regardless of the consequences that this continuous race has on mankind and the environment. Why wouldn’t they instead have somewhat lower income, but instead have targets and numbers that show what they achieved in terms of employment, education and the preservation of environment. These are, of course, utopian ideas, but these and similar thoughts are increasingly finding their way into wide circles of the population.
No wonder, therefore, that the ideas of Pope Francis encountered so widespread resonance and that he achieved great popularity in such a short period of time. And even he is talking about current economy that does not care about the people and warns politicians to “invisible ‘tyranny’ of money and market”, “where financial speculation, corruption and egotistical tax evasion reigns.” Besides, he supports the findings and application of solutions that rely on new economic models which are aimed at the general welfare.
The value of the United Nations lies in its existence, in the idea that should be supported, the idea which is our only path to survival as a species, and that is joint action that transcends any individual interests.
When the Republic of Croatia became the 178. member state of the UN, on 22. May 1992., I had the opportunity, as a volunteer of the Croatian Mission to the UN and with the help of American journalists, to be present at the acceptance speech, and that great feeling remains unrepeatable. Meaning and reputation of the United Nations is such that there is no other international organization membership of which can cause a similar reaction. That’s why I hope that the UN as an organization would recognize this crucial moment and nudge its members to start going more resolutely through the long and arduous transformation that mankind needs. Otherwise, people might move toward the goal of self-preservation on their own, in forms that do not share the values of civilization and that is a scary thought.
Vinka Ljubimir