Syria, United Nations, and Popsicle Sticks

Dear Neighbors:

If you live in the United States, you're probably wondering when and to what extent our military will become involved in Syria and its problems. If you're like me, you're probably confused as to 1) Where, exactly, Syria is located on a map; and, 2) how things got so bad to begin with. As for the first question, here's the answer:

Thank you, Washington Post! The arrow is much appreciated.

Part of the second answer can be found on the map -- look at Syria's neighbors. Any one of them places you want to visit anytime soon? As for a less sarcastic answer, I found this easy-to-understand article that answers the major questions. Don't be afraid -- read it. No one will know...not even me.

 Syria For Dummies

The main point of the article is that Syria's government is being mean to the people, and even more mean to the people who disagree with the government's policies. Because they have Russia's support, they don't need to give a flying freckled fuzzy ferret about what their citizens want or need. 

After checking out the United Nations website, know what I found that surprised me? Syria is a member. How the hell does a country whose government behaves like a group of spoiled bullies get to be a member of an organization "committed to maintaining international peace and unity" (Quote taken directly from the U.N.'s mission statement)? 

So once again, the leaders of the U.S. must contemplate taking action in Syria. Not because it will make any difference, but because we have to show them that we don't approve and that they did a bad, bad thing. Time for a music break...

What is the purpose of the United Nations if not to sort out these types of issues? There are 50 members of the U.N., but somehow the United States has become the playground supervisor of the world. Not to say our leaders have been altruistic about it...there's always something in it for us, I assume. What's more important is that a person's right to avoid government abuse shouldn't be based on where he or she happened to be born. 

Here's my solution: in the case of Syria and every other worldwide crisis, the only countries permitted to enjoy membership in the United Nations are those who are willing to participate in the international peace and unity part. To make it easy, we put the names of each member region on a popsicle stick and when there's a crisis, we pull out a few and assign them to deal with the problem. Until we get through all of the popsicle sticks, no one has World Peace Duty twice. That's how we do it in the classroom, folks. Everyone feels as though it's fair and after a while, each child looks forward to the teacher pulling out the stick with his or her name on it. 

Put on your thinking caps, Botswana, Liechtenstein and Yemen (or Sweden, Sri Lanka, Albania, Denmark...). Your popsicle sticks have been pulled.

Time for nap,

D