Last week Citizens for Global Solutions held its Annual Conference, which included a day of lobbying senators and representatives and a visit to the White House. Lobby day was filled with discussions of global problems, how to lobby your representative in government, and the role and the importance of social media in grassroots movements.

The most important message I got out of the Annual Conference is that no matter who you are, you have a voice. You can use that voice to talk to your government and advocate for global issues that you want to put on the national agenda. It is too often argued that because of the financial crisis in the United States, foreign relations should be put on the back burner of national policy. But after seeing the excitement at this conference and the many people who feel as strongly on global issues as CGS does, it is clear that the United States needs to stay present in the global scene.

Last week, staff gathered around a table in our office and discussed the sad accounts of Syrian activists feeling disillusioned and abandoned after Russia and China vetoed a UN Resolution aimed at stopping the conflict.

We knew we had to do something for the Syrian activists, but what?

The international community was moving at a snail’s pace, so our political advocacy options were unclear. But we did know one thing – even if mostly symbolic, it was important to let the Syrian people standing up for their freedom know that U.S. citizens haven’t forgotten about them.

Here's a few excerpts from my latest blog at Care 2 entitled, "United States' UN-Wise UNESCO Policy," which discusses two U.S. laws that halt contributions to U.N. agencies that accept Palestinian membership.  These laws forced the United States to stop funding the United Nations Education, Science, and Cultural Organization last week when the organization's members voted to accept Palestinian membership.

"The big question to answer is who benefits and loses from maintaining this policy. The biggest winners are people who use the Middle East conflict as a platform to spew anti-U.N. views and promote an isolationist agenda for the United States. The biggest loser isn't the Palestinians or Israelis, or even the U.N. It's the United States."

Our friends at the Better World Campaign recently launched a new website, www.LetUSLead.org, to educate and engage people across the country and inspire them to take action against the latest anti-UN bill introducted by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

Peter Yeo, Executive Director of the Better World Campaign explains the need for this website best: "The UN is playing a greater role in promoting American interests than ever before and we strongly oppose H.R. 2829, which threatens America's leadership role at the United Nations and undermines our national security. The Let U.S. Lead campaign calls on Congress to respect the will of the American people and oppose the passage of this ill-conceived bill."