America Should Leave the UN

The entire American delegation walked out of the United Nations summit meeting, forever severing ties with the group and ending America's membership in the UN.

Ok, that didn't really happen, at least not with the real America in the real UN. It happened at the Kentucky United Nations Assembly two years ago, and my school was representing America.

But first, some background. KUNA is a mock UN conference held every year by the YMCA in Louisville. Schools come representing different nations, and present proposals for consideration, usually having to do with eliminating world hunger, saving the rain forest, ending human trafficking, and the like. The proposals are debated upon in small committees through pro and con speeches, and highly ranked proposals (ones that are feasible and highly debatable) go to the general assembly to be argued over again. The proposal comes to a final vote and is passed or denied.

That year my school represented America and Iraq (the adviser picked the combo). The American proposal was to officially resign from the UN. Obviously, it was highly debatable. For years, no other bill had been so...selfish. When it went to general assembly, the crowd was in uproar. Nobody agreed with it. There was an infinitely long line of con speakers. They condemned our delegation for being self-centered, uncharitable, and ridiculous. The pros were not much better. Those who argued in favor of the bill said good riddance, that they could function without America, and eventually we would come crawling back after losing touch with the world. Nobody defended our right as a nation to function without the consent of the rest of the world.

The proposal was denied by almost unanimous decision (remember, there were about 100 delegations voting). However, nobody could stop a resignation, even if democratically voted against. Our voting representative promptly got up, and walked to sit with the rest of the American delegation, a move that signified we were no longer taking part in the proceedings. The Secretary General picking up on this asked if the American delegation was officially resigning. We said yes. "Then I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said. The entire room, roughly 1400 people, went wild. The Americans got up, and walked out of the meeting hall, leaving everyone shocked.

Nothing like that had ever happened at KUNA. For the rest of the conference, everyone was buzzing about the walkout, the controversy of the bill, and how we were really shaking things up.

It all payed off. At the end of the conference, we won Best Delegation, the conference's highest award. When announcing the award, the staff mentioned that the recipient won because they best represented their country, even if they weren't very politically correct. We picked up some other awards and basked in the glory of it for weeks.

We had made a statement, a pretty big one. But I hope someone had looked past the sensation of it and seen the argument behind it.

America should quit the UN. The premise of the UN is that countries should confer with one another instead of acting in each one's best interest. Countries are pressured into "donating" billions of dollars into charity causes. And where does that money come from? Taxpayers. Us. The UN is also hypocritical in allowing nations that are clearly hostile and anti-freedom to join. It has no real executive power, and should be dissolved. America would be better off if it removed itself from the organization.