Tomorrow is UN Day.
Drivers stuck in traffic on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge can pass the time admiring nearly 200 flags of member nations, lining the downtown span.
The annual display is one of those little things that makes living here so great. It’s a reminder too that our small town is part of a much larger world.
(Photo/Jeff Simon)
But those flags didn’t fall from the sky.
They were placed there — very carefully — by Department of Public Works employees.
They do it every October for UN Day.
And every June, for jUNe Day.
The DPW workers also place scores of American flags on the bridge each summer.
(Photo/Philip Keane)
And they take down, and store, those US and international flags, 3 times a year.
We seldom think of what it takes to make this colorful display happen.
But we should. So today — and every day — all those Public Works folks are our Unsung Heroes.
This year’s Public Works crew, on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge.
Of course, thanks go too to the many volunteers from the United Nations Association-USA Southwest Connecticut chapter. For nearly 70 years, they’ve made created, maintained and strengthened our town’s bonds with the UN.
None of it would have been possible without a special hero: Ruth Steinkraus Cohen. Her pioneering work, here and at the UN, paved the way for the traditions that continue, 7 decades later.
PS: A great Unsung Hero shout-out to Aye Aye Thant.
The longtime Westport resident, and daughter of U Thant — the UN’s third Secretary- General (1961-71), she too has worked tirelessly on behalf of that body, internationally and locally.
Today, on UN Day, she offers this message:
As we celebrate the 79 th anniversary of the United Nations Day on 24th October it is also a time to mull over its effectiveness. Some question whether the UN is still relevant today. I think this is because most people, when they think of the UN, usually think of the UN Security Council and its deliberations on war and peace issues facing the world. They then judge the Council’s performance based on their own hopes and desired outcomes.
This brings to my mind what my father termed a “Crisis of Confidence.” He said, “The UN today is facing a crisis of confidence, but the ultimate crisis before the UN is a “crisis of authority.”
I recalled at one of his press conferences he was asked about misunderstandings around the purpose of the UN and how to dispel them. My father replied, “Much of misunderstanding about the United Nations arises from the concept, in the minds of most people, of the United Nations as an entity outside of and different from its constituent members. The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization representing member governments.”
Aye Aye Thant spoke at a 2022 Westport Rotary Club meeting. A photo of her father, U Thant, is on the screen. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
He added, “The United Nations is not only the Secretariat or the Secretary -General or any other organs; it is primarily these Member governments…. the United Nations thus reflects the differences and divisions in the world today. If it is deemed imperfect in one sense or another, it is because it mirrors the imperfections of the world around us.”
As my father said, the United Nations is more than the Security Council. While there are global disputes and turmoil in the political field, there is also a growing spirit of internationalism in the economic and social fields. When my father travelled to poor nations, he was gratified to witness how UN agencies had helped to build a better economic order in those countries. As the world has shrunk, as the world’s affairs are no longer foreign affairs of governments but internal affairs that affect us all, the need for a world organization with the basic ideals and objectives of the United Nations, as reflected in its Charter, is needed more than ever.
On this auspicious day, may I end with my father’s wishes that “mankind’s eternal aspiration for good instead of evil, for peace instead of war, for wellbeing instead of poverty, justice instead of injustice and for friendship instead of hostility will reach a worldwide dimension.”
With prayers for a peaceful world — Happy United Nations Day!
(Unsung Hero is a weekly “06880” feature. To nominate a hero, email 06880blog@gmail.com. To support our work, please click here. Thank you!)