SATURDAY OCTOBER 24—In recent years, the United Nations has declared so many special observances that the anniversary of its birth—United Nations Day—may be a bit obscured by all of the other UN news. But this year, the observance is special: The UN turns 70!
According to Wikipedia: The UN officially came into existence 24 October 1945, upon ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council—France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the UK and the US—and by a majority of the other 46 signatories.
UN Day now is part of UN Week and—if you Google the United Nations later this week—you’re likely to see news stories from around the world about cooperative programs to help build healthier communities.
REMEMBER DAG HAMMERSKJOLD
Our suggestion this week? Re-discover the inspirational work of UN giant Dag Hammarskjold.
To get you started—earlier, we published this four-part series about his life and legacy.
Here’s just one of the oft-quoted passages from his writings …
“I don’t know Who—or what—put the question, I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone—or Something—and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal. From that moment I have known what it means ‘not to look back,’ and ‘to take no thought for the morrow.’”
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