Nobel Peace Prize AcceptanceSpeech

Oslo, Norway

December 10, 1998

(A mock speech written by Ellen Jacobson to promote worldfederalism.)

 

Your Majesty, your Royal Highness, Mr. President, excellencies,ladies and gentlemen,

I accept theNobel Peace Prize in hopes that not my life, but my goals will becomeworld renowned and universally supported. I hope that one day thecitizens of this planet will reach a point where when declaring theircitizenship, their primary answer will be 'a citizen of the Earth',and the common answer of the 20th century, "a citizen of the UnitedStates', or whatever country they may be from, will be but ofsecondary importance.

I wonder atthe day when there will be no fear, when countries will no longerspend billions of dollars each year in continuance of the arms race,when all missiles will be disarmed and we will live free from thethreat of war. Marveling at the possibility of peace and the absenceof suspicion, I must reflect upon the recent situation in Iraq. Thepresence of weapons of such mass destruction as anthrax renders allof humanity slaves to fear. That any country has the capacity toresist the United Nations' inspecting teams for enough time toconnive a scheme for hiding fatal weapons is unacceptable and canonly lead to war. This situation is a plea to the world to reform theUnited Nations, so that although one nation may be stronger than anyother individual state in the world, the power of United Nations isunparalleled.

We face aworld of international anarchy, a world where as John F. Kennedy andother great leaders have warned that we must choose between law andwar. We must seek to realize Abraham Lincoln's ideal of one "familyof man", a common humanity living in peace achieved through unity ofgovernment. We must choose between the dangerous duos of law andorder, and anarchy and destruction, for inevitable disputes areresolved only by law or force. We must establish an alternative tomilitary strength, a mechanism for settling conflicts, what WinstonChurchill called a "supranational government". World government isnot an ultimate goal to be achieved sometime in the future - it is animmediate necessity vital to our present survival.

World lawmust override national law as national law most often overridesindividual law. However, this is not to say that the internationalcommunity should interfere in the internal affairs of states, for itshould not, but that we must transcend the boundaries we havecreated, and establish our greatest concern as that for globalinterests, not for our own success. That we continue to cherish ourdiversity is crucial, for it is upon this foundation that a world isbuilt, lest we allow it to become the source of hatred and division,the destroyer rather than the promoter of harmony. We shall meet thisideal of oneness in diversity through the creation of a universallyaccepted system of order, insuring the superiority of internationallaw, and based on the primary goal of justice.

A worldwithout a government is as useless as an automobile factory without asupervisor: the employees are there but have no means of uniting, soare unproductive. Each worker may do his part, but not until allengage in one assembly line will a single car contain every part. Thesame is true in the larger scope of the world: each state isdependent upon each other, not only for resources such as oil, butfor knowledge and security. Such knowledge and security are thesalary paid to each nation, wages given in exchange for a tire ordoor. Upon completion of the car, as is necessary on all roads, theremust be policemen who serve the interests of all drivers andpassengers, all states and all of mankind.

Our method ofachieving a world supported by every country of the world must bemore effective than any technique we have tried up to date. We mustreform the United Nations into a true world order, and integrate thenation states into a paramount legal order. The world must undergotransformation from a confederation of sovereign nation states into asingle federation, the federation of the planet Earth. The UnitedNations will serve to establish international standards and toclarify each nation's obligations as part of the world federation.The primary goal of the United Nations will be to institute aneffective system of governing the world in an orderly and justmanner, to the end of international security. From this worldgovernment will grow the reality of world peace, a previouslyunapproachable ideal.

Individualstates, however powerful, lack the capacity to solve many problemsfacing our planet, problems which transcend nations. Although war isour most primary concern at present, many less egregious, yet just asintense problems exist. Pollution, terrorism, diminution of theplanet's natural resources, hunger, and even the almost ignoredproblem of overpopulation are global problems that call for globalsolutions; every state must actively take part in the solutions ofthese problems. For example, many rain forests throughout the worldare being rapidly destroyed for farm land and if this continues wemay completely lose the rain forest and all the species it supports.The plants of the rain forests provide over two thirds of the Earth'soxygen and are vital to our existence. The only solution to thissituation is to establish a worldwide contract where the countriespossessing the rain forests agree not to demolish these forests ifother countries support them with resources such as food for theirstarving people. Every state in the world needs these forests andtherefore must make sacrifices to maintain them. This process callsfor world interdependence and necessitates world cooperation andworld peace.

It is theduty of the international community to promote and protect the fullspectrum of individual human rights: civil, political, social,economic, and cultural, and it is our duty, as global citizens, to doeverything in our power to achieve this objective.

Our goal isto produce the optimal economic and social results, and to find abalance between freedom and security. International security requiresthe cooperation and sacrifice of all nations and therefore of allpeople, so how can one cry for security and freedom simultaneously?Sacrifice by definition restricts one's freedom, and cooperationdemands that one follow a specified path, even when it conflicts withone's own desires. We must achieve an equilibrium where certainfreedoms are restricted in mankind's best interest, yet where enoughfreedoms are granted so that we may have a diverse world. Inbalancing freedom we must banish the scourge of war from humanaffairs, and guarantee security from fear and the rage of otherstates.

* * *

I remember myfirst Sunday school class, when I was a mere four-year-old, in theminds of most adults "one too young to understand the concept ofGod". I remember coloring and watching two children fight over theonly blue crayon (to this day I don't know why there was only oneblue one while there were eight or nine of every other color) untilanother, slightly smaller child intervened to serve as thearbitrator. I had been afraid to get involved for fear that the twomight snub me or even punch me as they had both been known to do, soI watched in awe as the slight girl settled their argument not byforce, but by promoting what was right. Apparently also marveling atthe scene, my teacher communicated to us Christ's words in his Sermonon the Mount: "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be calledthe children of God." Still today these words rest in my head as amodel of God's will, and I reflect upon this moment often.

This phrasehas come to mean more to me now than it did those many years ago, forI apply it in a broader scope. The United Nations must become thepeacemaker for the nations of the world, and must effectively serveto settle disputes before they lead to war. We must urge the leadersof our countries to cooperate with the United Nations, and we must bewilling to give up some of our freedom for the benefit of the worldcommunity. Take up my cause, and let it be your cause, and spread theword, because the dove will not fly without the people of the worldsupporting it, peace will not become a reality.

We may be asmall group who support this cause, but a distinguished andperseverent group, and so we have the power to change public opinion,and thereby change institutions. That I may be the recipient of thisNobel Prize for Peace signifies the importance and potency of worldgovernment, and beckons the citizens of the world to join in mycampaign for peace. In receiving this honor I feel that a new dutyhas been bestowed upon me, not my duty to God or to my fellow globalcitizens, but a duty to those who have chosen me, to those who see mywork as worthwhile and have given me this chance to further publicizemy cause.

I have spokento leaders all over the world, and at conferences whose topics rangefrom medicine to nuclear weapons, but never have I spoken to such aninfluential audience as you, an audience so full of powerful people,and so I ask you to use that power to achieve my goal and AbrahamLincoln's goal, the goal of one "family of man", and of a life freefrom fear and suspicion.

I believethat this is a realistic goal for the 21st century, and that law andorder will, because they must, prevail over anarchy and destruction.I walk from this stage with confidence that you have realized theplight of humanity and will do everything in your power to supportthis cause, and I have faith that someday this confederation ofstates will become the federation of the Earth. 


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