The United Nations

The key idea in the Nobel speech titled," The United Nations of the 21st Century (2001)," by Kofi Annan, is to make the world an overall better place. The United Nations was created in order to join forces and create a better sense of peace, security and and growth for all kinds of people. More recently it has become a place of sanction for many people, in regards to their race and religion. The point that stood out to me the most in this acceptance speech was the part of immigration. In the speech, Annan writes, "The rights of the individual are of no less importance to immigrants and minorities in Europe and the Americas than to women in Afghanistan or children in Africa. They are as fundamental to the poor as to the rich; they are as necessary to the security of the developed world as to that of the developing world" (627). He is trying to get the point across that each and everyone of us is significant in our own, unique way. I think this issue (meaning immigration,) affects our world in particular because many immigrants from mostly Mexico, and South American countries immigrate to the United States, and are called/portrayed as being "aliens." My father and his family are immigrants from Colombia, South America, and I know first hand, and can guarantee you that they are not aliens. Calling them this gives us a sense that they are completely different, and do not stand for the same values that we Americans do. This is not the way things should be. We call it the "American Dream," and America is the "melting pot," then we should be able to accept these people who are in search of this dream.
In my opinion, I do not believe that there has been much down to help aid this situation. Yes, America has become more open to the idea of allowing immigrants into this country, but so many people are ignorant. They may chose to not see the hardship and struggle that these people might be facing back in their home country. Some further things that we could do in order to better this situation, is sit down and look at the issue threw their eyes. We should try and understand their struggle, and instead of calling them "aliens," maybe we can call them a father in search of a better life for his family.