LETTERS
In Appreciation of Mediation
The Jan. 7 article, "Strong-Arm Tactics Push Peace," gives a glimpse of the work done by mediators who deal with very difficult situations while maintaining their neutrality. As shown by the examples drawn from the situation between Palestinians and Israelis, the mediators don't espouse any point of view or offer proposals or ultimatums.
As impartial intermediaries for the conflicting parties, the mediators look for the best qualities and intentions that each party brings to the table, while probing to uncover the interests held in common by both sides. This process helps the parties to create their own agreements, which in the long run are the only ones that stand a chance of holding up. As we have seen historically, decisions imposed by outsiders, whose interests differ from those of people directly affected by the issues, tend to fail. Mediation may sometimes be a slow, painstaking process, but the outcomes are well worth the time, patience, and effort put in by all concerned, whether dealing with international or interpersonal issues.
Elizabeth Seaman
Palo Alto, Calif.
The UN's threat to the US
We find it distressing to witness the implementation of the 1994 United Nations Human Development Report which is threatening the sovereignity of our beloved United States of America and putting into place a one-world dictatorship. Yet The Christian Science Monitor continues to promote the UN, as in the Jan. 14 opinion-page article, "The UN Needs to Change and Will, But the US Must Not Opt Out," by the British UN ambassador shaming the US for its delinquent dues to the organization.
The 1994 UN report calls for, among other things, a "World Treasury," "world Central Bank," a "world currency," a permanent "world police" and international court of justice, universal disarmament, and the right to intervene in countries "after the outbreak of hostilities - either between or within states." Add to these onerous items the new, expanded World Trade Organization under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and a suggested "world income tax" to redistribute wealth and socially engineer the globe. The report states on Page 14, "in a civilized society a basic minimum income should be guaranteed to everyone."
In the foreword to the 1994 United Nations Human Development Report, UN Development Program Administrator James Gustave Speth represents that the "views" in the 226-page report "do not necessarily reflect the views of UNDP, its Executive Board or other member governments of UNDP." This is a smoke screen to hide the main purpose of world-order planning, because in the same foreword he states, "But there is no question in my mind that the Report will exercise a profound influence on global policy dialogue and on UNDP's future operations."
While the UN's original intent may have had merit, no nation stands to lose more under its ambitious plan than the US, i.e., its sovereignty under the US Constitution!
In 1776, 13 colonies of the British empire declared themselves sovereign - independent of and unlimited by any other government. It seems to us that the successful history of the republic of the United States of America has done more for the common man than any other form of government has been able to achieve. One need not look far to see the failures of centrally planned systems. We need to preserve our Constitution and the individual freedom it guarantees, or we will find ourselves under the heel of world domination.
Ruth Dollahon
Houston
Mothers for America
What Adams actually did
In the Jan. 6 article, "Rare-Book Heist May Leave Thieves Little to Do but Read," there is a sentence that is somewhat misleading. It seems to imply that John Quincy Adams saved an entire ethnic group, the Mendi people of Africa, from slavery. In fact, he successfully defended several dozen slave-ship captives before the US Supreme Court.
Peter Caron
New Orleans
Tulane University
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