Published in PassBlue
April 15, 2020

CHICAGO — American cities have an intimate association with the United Nations. That relationship started in San Francisco 75 years ago later this month and continues today and, one hopes, tomorrow in the New York and Washington headquarters for the UN and the Bretton Woods institutions.

Chicago is my sabbatical base and an intriguing location in which to be hunkered down for the Covid-19 duration. The city has a justifiable reputation for its civic pride and community spirit, on the one hand, and its woeful inequalities and racism, on the other. It is an apt metaphor for the strengths and woes of the country and the planet.

The Windy City reflects the mixture of aspiration and desperation that characterizes global politics. In optimistic moments, I am encouraged by the sense of community, by what might be learned from this crisis. Fleeting thoughts provide momentary relief, the possibility of moving back to the future of 1945 — to recapture the original UN Charter vision of international institutions that could “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” but also from pandemics and ensure the provision of global public goods that are in such dire short supply.

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