Traffic Lights – Thank the UN

Last Friday, Curzon, in his role as “Adjunct Professor” of political science, brought in about 25 students to New York City. Actually, the two TAs organized the logistics and Professor Curzon just sat back and enjoyed the trip, the highlight of which was a tour of the United Nations.

(Enough of the third-person narrative.) This is my fourth semester of teaching and my second trip to the UN with my students. Once again, I rolled my eyes as I watched the tour guide talk about all the alleged good the UN has done, and chuckled to myself as the dreamy-eyed undergraduates chattered on about the glories of world government. Afterwards, when the kids went off on their own to Broadway shows, karaoke bars and who knows what else, I met a friend living in the city who I hadn’t seen in more than six years for a meal and drinks. Both of us have become significantly more conservative from where we were six years ago. Upon hearing of my tour, he quipped that any trip he made to the UN would be with “a truckload of fertilizer.”

I’m not quite that right-wing, but I understand his sentiments. The UN is by-and-large a waste of resources, and the multi-layered bureaucracy has perfected the art of doing more harm than good when it comes to peace and world order. But despite my cynicism, credit should be given where credit is due: the UN’s role in syncronizing traffic lights, a small but nonetheless excellent service that has probably saved millions of lives over the past sixty years.

The first traffic light appeared in the United Kingdom in the late 1860s (!), and by World War I they could be found across the United States, Europe, Japan, China, and parts of Latin America. But there was no syncronization of color, style, or timing—a traffic light in France could be quite different from a traffic light in Belgium, leading to all sorts of accidents. The League of Nations tried to cope with the problem of traffic safety shortly after it was formed in 1919, with some results. But it was the UN’s Conference on Road and Motor Traffic in 1949 that syncronized traffic lights worldwide (the UN also created zebra crossings).

When it comes to dealing with thugs and tyrants like Hussein and Kim Gone Ill, I’d rather the UN just sit down and shut up. But when it comes to the sundry details of living in a globalized world economy, we should keep in mind that no matter what complaints we may have about the UN, it nonetheless has a necessary role that even an old cynic like myself has to recognize.