Events that come to have worldwide influence can begin when an idea meets a receptive audience. Actions that have historic impact need not require the creation of new coalitions or the endorsement of existing organizations. They can begin with a handful of people willing to experi-ment, willing to risk failure and embarrassment, willing to take initiative for what they desire.

When one person went to Nashville, Tennessee, with the intention of offering workshops on nonviolence, he could have not foreseen that the local sit-in movement would attract a troubadour with an unfamiliar song, build a movement that would alter the structure of politics in the world’s most powerful country, create a new national holiday, and lead in less than three decades to people singing that song - "We Shall Overcome" - in the streets of Seoul and in Tiananmen Square.

Can a few people in greater Boston start a process that alters the balance of world power between the United States government and the United Nations system? A thoughtful reading of history provides evidence that they might. Here are some theses for critical scrutiny and debate.

1. The United Nations cannot realize its positive potential in the foreseeable future while facing the opposition of the world’s most powerful state.

2. A sizable and durable majority of Americans hold opinions about the roles the U.S. and the UN should play in the world that are consistent with large positive changes we desire.

3. The opposition of government, corporations, military, and mass media cannot prevent the spread of ideas through the United States.

4. Underdogs, idealists, quixotic fighters against the status quo and the powers that be, can tap a vein of public sympathy even among people who initially disagree with their views.

5. Nonviolent direct action campaigns bypass the obstacles of conventional electoral politics, but can influence politicians, the electorate, and government actions.

6. Nonviolent direct action, including "civil disobedience," now has a measure of both intelligibility and legitimacy in the U.S.

7. Few people know how to design a well-conceived nonviolent direct action campaign, but ample written sources are available and expert consultation is available.