Tuesday, March 22, 2011

President Wilson's Fourteen Points Today

President Wilson's Fourteen Points Today

        In theory Woodrow Wilson thought up the 14 point system in order to make a better world. Basically it was a list of all the things that he would much rather not deal with in his presidency. His first  five points were about ending secret treaties and freedom of the seas and reduced military but in today's world secret treaties and corruption fill politics and certain areas of the ocean are blocked for certain nations. Also since the 1990s, nations have been striving for bigger armies and naval fleets. Points 6 through 13 were specific ideals for countries such as changing borders and creating new nations which in a way we haven't really created new nations we just have named them differently. The 14th point provided an idea that nations such associate and pretty much look out for the little guy or smaller countries or city-states. Which eventually the Treaty of Versailles was signed and formed the League of Nations.
       Point 1 states that there should be an end to secret treaties. However that didn't last to today's day an age. Before Woodrow Wilson was president, according to HNN (History News Network), Teddy Roosevelt had agreed with Japan to let them expand Asia. In theory that was the reason they bombed Pearl Harbor in WW2. According to HNN they did not attack Hawaii to move onto California but to expand their nation. Not to protect U.S. citizens but to protect Veitnamese people and Burmese people. This isnt blaming Teddy Roosevelt for the war but that's the theory. So this is the idea of Woodrow Wilson to make it a top point to prevent it from happening, but thats fails as we see Dick Cheney buying stock in the cleaning of the BP oil spill eleven days before it happened.
      Point 2 states that everyone should have complete freedom upon the seas. This point also disapproved of war fought in water. At this time the United States welcomed this concept however Britain, France, Germany. However today this concept can be found in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It states that the high seas is open to all states, coast or land-locked. It also includes a long list of freedoms such as navigation, laying of submarine cables, fishing, scientific research and many more. However even though it sounds like we have freedom to the seas, a lot of areas of the ocean are blocked to certain nations such as the sea blockade on the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
      Point 4 states that countries should decrease their weaponry. This point went downhill the moment it was addressed. The increase in the amount of weapons countries have increase daily. Each day countries are buying new weapons or engineering new weapons to make their arsonal better than the other. Country leaders are loading themselves with nukes and we even have fighter jets that are unmanned.
      Point 14 states that a league of nations should be put into place to govern political and teritoral independence for all nations. This point did actually go through. Part 1 of the Treaty of Versailles declared a League of Nations. Though it was ineffective the League of Nations helped jump start the United Nations which in this essence I believe that this point was the most effective. For the simple reason that the UN is effective enough to uphold the idea that orginally established the League of Nations.


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