Regarding the Peace Prize for President Obama

[bigmacbear]

gmjambear and I got to talking about President Obama's award of the Nobel Peace Prize. Gary suggested he received it, in part, because of his address to the Muslim world some months ago. I said he's got a gift for diplomatic public speaking, now let's see him get the opportunity to use it.

Gary reminded me that just as poverty was not wiped out in India when Mother Teresa received her prize, nor was civil rights a done deal in the US when Martin Luther King was awarded his, nor was the eternal conflict over Israel and Palestine settled when Yassir Arafat and Shimon Peres received theirs, so too is there much work yet to be done on the issues for which President Obama spoke so eloquently and thereby made himself a candidate for the prize.

And yes, it certainly helps that Obama is not Bush, as much as he might wish to hold on to the power that Bush left him during his eight disastrous years.

But in a field of endeavour in which progress comes, when it does at all, in painfully small increments over an excruciatingly long time, these awards are not so much for achievement but to promote whatever progress can be made. In other words, these are not laurels to be rested upon.

Comments

What had he done in Twelve Days?

[fuzzbearmark.livejournal.com]

I discovered that the nominations were due only Twelve Days into his Presidency. What had he accomplished in nine days?

It's not that he had a history of working for Peace in the US or around the world. He came from obscurity, was catapulted into being a Senator under questionable circumstances -then uplifted to The Presidency.

Was someone So Inspired by his Inaugural Address to feel he deserved this honor?

Yes, many countries like us right now due to his rhetoric. Is that a good thing? Presidents throughout our history have governed under the motto:
"Peace Through Strength". How is apologizing to the world and appeasing foreign entities improving our relations?

Simply because Obama calls for disarmament doesn't mean that Iran and North Korea will put away their dangerous toys -they've already shown their defiance.

Many many questions remain unanswered.