At the United Nations, he soon stood out in service to humankind, including a speech to the General Assembly which national and international media commended for his lambasting of the Eastern and Western Blocs for not ending their differences and quarrels when he stated: "I am losing confidence in the great powers. They are climbing from the pedestal of greatness to the pedestal of insanity. We expect leadership from them; they give us destruction. We expect wisdom from them; they give us lack of knowledge..."