4-H'ers learn about "our" government - the United Nations

Olympia, WA - On Feb. 22, young people from across Washington state - members of the 4-H Clubs - will be attending the 1998 "Know Your Government" Conference held in Olympia. Unlike previous years, where children have learned about various aspects of American government, this year they will be taught about the United Nations and will role-play in the U.N. process of governance.
If this seems a little strange at first glance, it shouldn't. Becoming a "global citizen" has gained increasingly more focus in classrooms across America. In this case, one of the stated purposes of this conference is "for youth to learn about, and actively participate in, the political processes that enhance the quality of life for their community, country and world." Another is to "allow community officials and leaders to recognize the interest and concerns of young people in the decision-making process."

Topics to be discussed by the young "citizens" will include: Population, Women's Rights, Peace Observation, Disarmament, and Human Rights, Social, and Economic. The purpose of the Conference is to draft resolutions on these topics in committee and then approve them in the General Assembly.

According to background material furnished the attendees by the U.N., they will learn about consensus-building, with "voluntary family planning decisions" listed as an example; sustainable development; mechanisms for monitoring and promoting human rights worldwide (which is included "in the UN peace-keeping missions, and declared link between democracy, development and human rights").

The UN-furnished material states, "The United Nations is today, more than ever, engaged in service to all the world's nations and peoples, but its ability to function is hampered by financial problems. Unless member States act quickly to pay their debts to the Organization - a total of $2.3 billion is owed as of mid-July 1997 - the UN will remain in a precarious financial situation. It is clear that this situation stems in part from widespread public misunderstandings about what the UN really is - and does." It would appear that this conference is a means to remedy those "misunderstandings" by using young impressionable people as the method to change the thinking.

In this "Know Your Government" curriculum, they will NOT learn about the basic elements of a representative republican form of government such as was established in the U.S.; rather, they will be taught about a consensus form of government as is used in the United Nations, and which is contrary to that which our nation was founded upon.

To see the U.N. "fact" sheet, go to http://www.un.org/News/facts/confrncs.htm)
For excellent information about the U.N., global governance, and a list of U.N. sites for documents, go to Berit Kjo's homepage at: http://www.beritkjos.com/index.shtml