Happy anniversary, U.N.

On this day in 1946 the United Nations assembled for the first time. According to the U.N. Web site, “The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was first used in the "Declaration by United Nations" of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers.” I’ve visited the New York headquarters a few times and always come away impressed and heartened by the history and vision of this body. And the New York site is beautiful, full of large-scale murals and art from around the world, with spacious hallways and meeting rooms full of gravitas. All those people from around the world working against the odds, against the obstacles, to keep communication open. Here’s a poem to celebrate this institution, from the point of view of Eleanor Roosevelt.

The United Nations
Eleanor Roosevelt
Hyde Park, New York, 1947
by Bobbi Katz

I hear Franklin’s words, although he’s at rest.
“Don’t discard the good, when you can’t have the best.”

The President said, “Be my eyes and my ears.”
I looked and I listened for so many years.
I brought the pulse of the nation to our partnership
with what I saw and I heard on each fact-finding trip.

“Peace,” Franklin said, “will need help to endure.
Peace needs a structure. Of that I am sure.”
The United Nations, he thought, could be the way
to work toward world justice and keep war at bay.

I hear Franklin’s words, although he’s at rest.
“Don’t discard the good, when you can’t have the best.”

Now atomic bombs pose a dark new threat.
The need for peace grows more urgent, yet
the United Nations, it’s clear to me,
will be as strong as its members allow it to be.

I hear Franklin’s words, although he’s at rest.
“Don’t discard the good, when you can’t have the best.”

From Katz, B. (2000). We the People: Poems. 1st ed. Illustrated by Nina Crews. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Check out the U.N. “Cyberschool bus” Web site for many interesting teaching ideas and activities.

Picture credit: www.endoilaid.org