At a time when the world seems to be coming apart it is easy to despair and be discouraged. The prospects for peace seem ever more distant, so much more illusive. We must never allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by pessimism. We must never surrender to despair. I am an optimist. I believe that man will find a way to maintain peace and end genocide.

I am an American and it is my belief that the world needs to utilize the United Nations more. The United Nations needs to take a greater role in ending wars and the world needs to take responsibility for ending genocide. We should never surrender except to principle.
We have seen the failure of the attempt to nation build by the United States and we can now see the myriad problems that nation building presents. We have seen the failure of unilateralism. It is time to seek collective action.
The building crisis in the Ukraine, the disaster that is the Syrian Civil War and the bloodletting in Gaza are testament to the need for collective action.
The tragic shooting down of the Malaysian Airplane is a real life example of the current impotence of the world community. The world community through the United Nations needs to take strong action against the perpetrators of this illegal and immoral act.
The veto power that exists in the United Nations Security Council needs to be reformed. World pressure, especially the threat of using strong economic sanctions can hopefully create enough pressure on the country threatening to use the veto, so that it will not be used.
I do not claim to know what the action needs to be but something has to be done. Action is necessary to send a loud and clear message to those who would consider repeating this type of behavior. Justice demands action for the victims and for the family’s of those who were so tragically murdered. Just because the perpetrator responsible for the criminal shoot down of the airplane is a major political power does not mean that action can not be taken. It will take political will and courage. But that is what is needed so as to prevent these types of reckless acts in the future.
The United Nations has had success before in reducing the danger of conflict. Kashmir is a good example of a United Nations Peacekeeping force maintaining the peace.
History is replete with lessons learned as a result of a failure to take responsibility. Force is not the first choice but a last resort. The one lesson we did learn leading up to the Second World War was not to let tyrants have their way. There a difference between appeasement and taking a wise course of action short of war. We can not stick our collective heads in the sand and wish the danger or the wrongful acts away. Actions need to be taken irrespective of the economic consequences that may occur as a result of collective action necessary to punish wrongful acts.
Even though things look particularly dark these days, the world has seen far worse. We survived World War II, and the Cold War. What is worrisome now is the malaise and apathy that seems to exist. America may be tired of its historic role since World War II, but regardless of that possible fact, we as citizens of the world can not stand idly by and do nothing. The lives of many innocents are on the line.