In 1945, the world changed in a lot of different ways. The bloodiest world war in human history ended. The worst genocide in human history ended. The worst weapon in human history was invented, and then used.

But the most significant thing that happened in 1945, by far, was the founding of the United Nations.

For the first time in history:

Every country in the world agreed to sit down and resolve their differences peacefully.

Every country in the world agreed to renounce war and to work towards the general and complete disarmament of all countries.

Every country in the world agreed to follow certain procedures in order to prevent wars from happening and to stop them if they started.

And every country in the world agreed to abide by a common set of laws and principles, enforced by collective action, so that no one country could cheat or take unfair advantage of another.

Clearly, what was agreed in 1945 has not been fully implemented since then. We have continued to have wars, and countries have continued to flout the laws they have agreed to.

But without understanding and accepting that we, in the United States, are part of a community of nations that need to work together to solve the world’s problems; without understanding and accepting that we, in the United States, can only be safe and secure to the extent that every other country feels safe and secure; without understanding and accepting that we, in the United States, must abide by international laws and agreements if we expect other countries to do the same;

Without this fundamental change in our way of thinking, we cannot get rid of the biggest threats to our survival as a species – neither the threat of climate change nor the threat of nuclear annihilation.