World News and Trends- America's "New Era of Engagement": Where will it lead?
A feature article in USA Today stated: "With President Obama presiding over an historic session, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a U.S. sponsored resolution ... committing all nations to work for a nuclear weapons-free world. Russia, China and developing nations supported the measure, giving it global clout and strong political backing" (Associated Press, "UN Aim: Nuclear-Free World," Sept. 25-27, 2009).
A feature article in USA Today stated: "With President Obama presiding over an historic session, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a U.S. sponsored resolution ... committing all nations to work for a nuclear weapons-free world. Russia, China and developing nations supported the measure, giving it global clout and strong political backing" (Associated Press, "UN Aim: Nuclear-Free World," Sept. 25-27, 2009).
Dealing with the specifics of his Sept. 23 speech to the UN General Assembly in New York City, President Obama stated that "a new era of engagement" was needed to deal with the world's problems (The Daily Telegraph, "America Alone Cannot Solve World Problems, Insists Obama," Sept. 24, 2009).
The president also spoke of building a new world order: "The time has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and our work must begin now." If only our human nature would allow us to truly work together this way! God lamented about ancient Israel: "O that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!" (Deuteronomy 5:29).
Nuclear disarmament remains one of the chief pillars of the president's program. Although the Russian arsenal is numerically larger than America's, Moscow's weaponry is steadily deteriorating and in terms of operational nuclear missiles remains on a par with the United States. Clearly Russia needs a disarmament agreement far more than America.
The dangerous age we live in will not become less so with unilateral U.S. disarmament while a few nations manage to cleverly hold on to their own atomic weapons and rogue nations like Iran and North Korea join the nuclear club. We must ask why the nations are being propelled on a path that can only lead to a world crisis far worse than the two world wars that blighted the 20th century.
A future world with ever-weakening American power and influence will find itself in far more trouble than it currently faces. The reality is that "the US, of course, remains the world's sole superpower, stronger than its rivals in every dimension. If Washington cannot always get its way, no other nation is anywhere near ready to replace it as guarantor of global security" (Philip Stephens, "Four Things You Must Know About the Global Puzzle," Financial Times, Sept. 25, 2009). Whether they realize it or not, it is not in the interests of civilized nations to rejoice over the continuing decline of the United States.
To obtain a much-needed overall perspective as to which direction this troubled world is taking and where it will ultimately end, request or download our free booklets You Can Understand Bible Prophecy and Are We Living in the Time of the End? (Sources: The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times [both London], USA Today.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: November - December 2009
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
