Another good reason

for getting rid of the UN, or at least change the name. Maybe it is the name that leads people to think this is the future of world government. If it were called the People's Democratic Republic of Earth, we'd probably know better how much to trust it. The name now is a deliberate parallel to the United States, but there isn't much united about it. Maybe it should be called the Turtle Bay Debating Society to make it clear that it shouldn't take itself so seriously. As it is, it encourages the illusion that diplomacy has completely replaced military power as the sole governing principle of international relations. What gives us the nutty idea that our national interests should defer to a committee that includes outright enemies and representatives of over-the-hill powers that will sell us out for enough oil? I'm not against having a place to air differences, but we should really disabuse ourselves that it requires as much money as we're flushing down it or that it can really accomplish anything without unanimity.