Your Majesty, your Royal Highness, Mr. President, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

I accept the Nobel Peace Prize in hopes that not my life, but my goals will become world renowned and universally supported. I hope that one day the citizens of this planet will reach a point where when declaring their citizenship, their primary answer will be 'a citizen of the Earth', and the common answer of the 20th century, "a citizen of the United States', or whatever country they may be from, will be but of secondary importance.

I wonder at the day when there will be no fear, when countries will no longer spend billions of dollars each year in continuance of the arms race, when all missiles will be disarmed and we will live free from the threat of war. Marveling at the possibility of peace and the absence of suspicion, I must reflect upon the recent situation in Iraq. The presence of weapons of such mass destruction as anthrax renders all of humanity slaves to fear. That any country has the capacity to resist the United Nations' inspecting teams for enough time to connive a scheme for hiding fatal weapons is unacceptable and can only lead to war. This situation is a plea to the world to reform the United Nations, so that although one nation may be stronger than any other individual state in the world, the power of United Nations is unparalleled.

We face a world of international anarchy, a world where as John F. Kennedy and other great leaders have warned that we must choose between law and war. We must seek to realize Abraham Lincoln's ideal of one "family of man", a common humanity living in peace achieved through unity of government. We must choose between the dangerous duos of law and order, and anarchy and destruction, for inevitable disputes are resolved only by law or force. We must establish an alternative to military strength, a mechanism for settling conflicts, what Winston Churchill called a "supranational government". World government is not an ultimate goal to be achieved sometime in the future - it is an immediate necessity vital to our present survival.

World law must override national law as national law most often overrides individual law. However, this is not to say that the international community should interfere in the internal affairs of states, for it should not, but that we must transcend the boundaries we have created, and establish our greatest concern as that for global interests, not for our own success. That we continue to cherish our diversity is crucial, for it is upon this foundation that a world is built, lest we allow it to become the source of hatred and division, the destroyer rather than the promoter of harmony. We shall meet this ideal of oneness in diversity through the creation of a universally accepted system of order, insuring the superiority of international law, and based on the primary goal of justice.

A world without a government is as useless as an automobile factory without a supervisor: the employees are there but have no means of uniting, so are unproductive. Each worker may do his part, but not until all engage in one assembly line will a single car contain every part. The same is true in the larger scope of the world: each state is dependent upon each other, not only for resources such as oil, but for knowledge and security. Such knowledge and security are the salary paid to each nation, wages given in exchange for a tire or door. Upon completion of the car, as is necessary on all roads, there must be policemen who serve the interests of all drivers and passengers, all states and all of mankind.

Our method of achieving a world supported by every country of the world must be more effective than any technique we have tried up to date. We must reform the United Nations into a true world order, and integrate the nation states into a paramount legal order. The world must undergo transformation from a confederation of sovereign nation states into a single federation, the federation of the planet Earth. The United Nations will serve to establish international standards and to clarify each nation's obligations as part of the world federation. The primary goal of the United Nations will be to institute an effective system of governing the world in an orderly and just manner, to the end of international security. From this world government will grow the reality of world peace, a previously unapproachable ideal.

Individual states, however powerful, lack the capacity to solve many problems facing our planet, problems which transcend nations. Although war is our most primary concern at present, many less egregious, yet just as intense problems exist. Pollution, terrorism, diminution of the planet's natural resources, hunger, and even the almost ignored problem of overpopulation are global problems that call for global solutions; every state must actively take part in the solutions of these problems. For example, many rain forests throughout the world are being rapidly destroyed for farm land and if this continues we may completely lose the rain forest and all the species it supports. The plants of the rain forests provide over two thirds of the Earth's oxygen and are vital to our existence. The only solution to this situation is to establish a worldwide contract where the countries possessing the rain forests agree not to demolish these forests if other countries support them with resources such as food for their starving people. Every state in the world needs these forests and therefore must make sacrifices to maintain them. This process calls for world interdependence and necessitates world cooperation and world peace.

It is the duty of the international community to promote and protect the full spectrum of individual human rights: civil, political, social, economic, and cultural, and it is our duty, as global citizens, to do everything in our power to achieve this objective.

Our goal is to produce the optimal economic and social results, and to find a balance between freedom and security. International security requires the cooperation and sacrifice of all nations and therefore of all people, so how can one cry for security and freedom simultaneously? Sacrifice by definition restricts one's freedom, and cooperation demands that one follow a specified path, even when it conflicts with one's own desires. We must achieve an equilibrium where certain freedoms are restricted in mankind's best interest, yet where enough freedoms are granted so that we may have a diverse world. In balancing freedom we must banish the scourge of war from human affairs, and guarantee security from fear and the rage of other states.

I remember my first Sunday school class, when I was a mere four-year-old, in the minds of most adults "one too young to understand the concept of God". I remember coloring and watching two children fight over the only blue crayon (to this day I don't know why there was only one blue one while there were eight or nine of every other color) until another, slightly smaller child intervened to serve as the arbitrator. I had been afraid to get involved for fear that the two might snub me or even punch me as they had both been known to do, so I watched in awe as the slight girl settled their argument not by force, but by promoting what was right. Apparently also marveling at the scene, my teacher communicated to us Christ's words in his Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." Still today these words rest in my head as a model of God's will, and I reflect upon this moment often.

This phrase has come to mean more to me now than it did those many years ago, for I apply it in a broader scope. The United Nations must become the peacemaker for the nations of the world, and must effectively serve to settle disputes before they lead to war. We must urge the leaders of our countries to cooperate with the United Nations, and we must be willing to give up some of our freedom for the benefit of the world community. Take up my cause, and let it be your cause, and spread the word, because the dove will not fly without the people of the world supporting it, peace will not become a reality.

We may be a small group who support this cause, but a distinguished and perseverent group, and so we have the power to change public opinion, and thereby change institutions. That I may be the recipient of this Nobel Prize for Peace signifies the importance and potency of world government, and beckons the citizens of the world to join in my campaign for peace. In receiving this honor I feel that a new duty has been bestowed upon me, not my duty to God or to my fellow global citizens, but a duty to those who have chosen me, to those who see my work as worthwhile and have given me this chance to further publicize my cause.

I have spoken to leaders all over the world, and at conferences whose topics range from medicine to nuclear weapons, but never have I spoken to such an influential audience as you, an audience so full of powerful people, and so I ask you to use that power to achieve my goal and Abraham Lincoln's goal, the goal of one "family of man", and of a life free from fear and suspicion.

I believe that this is a realistic goal for the 21st century, and that law and order will, because they must, prevail over anarchy and destruction. I walk from this stage with confidence that you have realized the plight of humanity and will do everything in your power to support this cause, and I have faith that someday this confederation of states will become the federation of the Earth.