In a letter published last week, James O’Neill of Middle Village criticizes U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer for their support of the funding of the United Nations with taxes collected from U.S. citizens. He believes the vote of 51 senators in favor of the U.N. was a “betrayal” and against the wishes of their constituents.
We disagree. Although it is imperfect, the United Nations is the only forum where nearly all the nations of the world can gather peacefully. In addition to the U.N. peacekeepers deployed around the world, the United Nations spends billions of dollars to feed the hungry and wipe out disease.
Queens is home to people whose families have come from every country in the world. We believe the majority of Queens residents value the work done by the U.N. and are opposed to the isolationists who do not appreciate America’s generosity.
Despite hard times, America remains one of the wealthiest nations in the world. We applaud Gillibrand and Schumer for recognizing the value of the U.N., which had its beginnings in this borough.
The War Is Over
If you are reading this editorial, chances are the world did not end Tuesday. Despite the overheated election rhetoric that the people of New York City have been subjected to, the world kept spinning on Election Day when neither the Democrats nor the Republicans won all of the races they claimed were essential for the future of the nation and state.
The tone and attacks in this year’s campaign season seemed particularly nasty. We are sure we are not the only ones who gave a sigh of relief when the polls closed Tuesday night.
We hope that in January the winning candidates can put the divisiveness and find ways to cooperate. The state is on the brink of financial disaster. Democrats and Republicans share the blame for the corruption and inability to pass a budget on time.
In Washington, we hope the new Congress will find a way to work with the president to address problems like unemployment and the ongoing foreclosure crisis.
We congratulate those who won Tuesday and hope they will recognize that there are sincere men and women on both sides of the aisle in Albany and Washington.
