President Obama and The Nobel Peace Prize

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President Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his promises, pledges, and calls for peaceful diplomacy. Regardless of where you stand, the decision has been made and the prize has been awarded. There’s just no taking it back, but is there possibly something to learn here?

I’m not generally one to get too worked up about politics, myself, but I must admit that this news left me scratching my head. In all honesty, what has this president actually done to promote peace? Don’t get me wrong, I voted for Obama (for reasons I won’t go into), but I really am confused about how something like this flies in the international community.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee defended their position against accusations that the move may have been premature with the notion that delivering the prestigious award three years from now may be too late. Isn’t that the point though? Don’t you award someone a prize for actions they have taken rather than actions they may possibly take based on things they have said during political campaigns or victory speaches?

Shouldn’t the international community know better than to trust an American president based on the things they say after the whole affair with George W. for the previous two presidential terms? Some may accuse me of being unpatriotic, but I spent my time in the military and I’m not foolish enough to think that we, as a nation, haven’t got a bit of trust issues after invading Iraq on false pretenses. Yet we’re still there. Afghanistan? Yep, still there. Are people on both sides and in the middle still getting blown up and shot? Last time I checked, yes. It looks like we’ve got some work to do.

In this day and age, actions definitely speak louder than words. A move such as this only seems to degrade the value of such a prestigious award, effectively turning it into a mockery. What about the real heroes? The people who promote peace by their actions every day and not just with political rhetoric that isn’t acted upon? What good is a speach about a vision of a world free of nuclear arms when you still hold one of the largest arsenals? What about the people like Mahatma Ghandi, the most notorious Nobel Peace Prize omission in history? This poor, dead peace-loving fellow has been passed over more times than wheat bread. If you’re just going to throw the award out to someone who hasn’t earned it yet, why not honor a true hero with a little post-humous recognition that can serve as a reminder to current generations? It would be nice if Mr. Ghandi had been the only one shafted when it comes to this award, but the truth is that this isn’t the first time that the Nobel Peace Prize has found a ‘lesser worthy recipient’.

But, like I said, what’s done is done. At best we can hope that Obama views this as his international call to action to start delivering on those promises he made. At worst? It was just a case of a prize awarded to someone who didn’t deserve it – a prize that average people like you and me would never really be in the running for anyway. Besides, I don’t think the true heroes are motivated by medals or commendations. They do what they do because it needs to get done.

Congratulations Barack.