I, myself, didn't know about this fact until Friday morning...so I searched up "Obama Nobel Peace Prize" on a search engine (actually, 2), and skimmed through a couple articles.
Now, it seems (at the very most basic level) that Obama is being granted this prize because of his promises of peace- that is, nuclear reduction, etc.
As quoted by sfgate.com (Source 2),
"Some people say — and I understand it — 'Isn't it premature? Too early?' Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now," Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, told the AP. "It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us."
Now here's what I think.
First of all, let's start with the quote you just read.
"It could be too late to respond three years from now."
I completely disagree. I don't know about other people, but I was raised in an environment where you achieve your goal before getting your prize. For example, if you get the straight A's on your report card, then you can go to the party on Saturday. If it's your birthday, then you can redeem your free thingamabob on your birthday coupon. Am I making sense? I think so.
So that's a point I'm sorta skeptical on...
Now, don't get me wrong, though. If Obama manages to get everyone in the world holding hands and signing a world anthem, I would be thrilled. A hundred thousand NPPs to him, I would say. Heck, even getting a half, a third, an eigth of the way there would be an extroardinary achievement deserving at least a couple more honors with which he has already been bestowed.
But the point is, you need to do it first.
Now, since we've established that if he's done anything important and substancial that improves peace of the world (not just making promises), then he is completely worthy of the NPP.
I'll make a list of what he's done, then close it with the articles I looked at.
What Obama has done to improve world peace:
Sources:
http://wbztv.com/local/obama.nobel.peace.2.1237783.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/08/international/i221133D49.DTL
My last personal note:
In case if you didn't get that, the answer to what Obama has done so far that's substancial enough to get a NPP is absolutely nothing.
Ladies and gentlemen, America was not built on promises. It was not the signing of some sheet of paper in 1776 that made America her own country, but a bloody, savage war. It was not through promises that Ghandi freed India, but through peaceful action. It was not through megear talks that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for his rights, but unified calls for movement and change. Similarly (on the other end of the spectrum), Hitler and Stalin did not become leaders of their countries through talks, promises, or mere diplomacy- they used force and violence.
We need some action, not some words. Don't actions speak louder than words?
I completly agree.
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