Apparently the Nobel prize is no longer a noble prize. Even the Associated Press is questioning the committee's motives. Check out this article they published on Yahoo! news.
Now, I am not going to bash our president, regardless of my political views. That is not the point I am after here. My aim is to ask, like the author of that article, what has Obama done (not promised) to earn such a prestigious award?
We have all heard the promises of a new world with free healthcare, no poverty, and no war, but has the President actually accomplished, past tense, any of this? Whatever your political views, believers, none of us can claim he has delivered on those promises at this time. Will he deliver? That remains to be seen. However, as it stands, he has accomplished nothing that would place him ahead of other contenders. Even Bono (U2 lead singer) has done more, to date, to end hunger and poverty than President Obama. Comparing their efforts, Bono probably comes out ahead of most presidents to date.
I say the prize has lost its nobility, because it is being awarded for political goals - not for rewarding actual accomplishments in achieving a better world for all. What was once a prestigious award now is junk, at least in my eyes. If they gave me the award (which they shouldn't - I don't deserve it no matter what I promise), it would adorn the bottom of my waste basket rather than the top of my mantle. An award given purely for a political agenda is only truly an award to someone sharing that agenda. Otherwise, it is just junk taking up space.
But that's just me. Who knows - maybe they will resurrect it in the future by giving it out to someone based on his/her merits and achievements rather than political promises.
Be blessed.
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In fairness, the Nobel Peace Prize lost its meaning a long time ago. They've awarded it to Al Gore for global warming alarmism, Jimmy Carter for coddling totalitarian leaders (explicitly to criticize Bush's war policies, as the committee stated at the time), and Yasser Arafat for his restraint in killing somewhat fewer Jews than he might have.
ReplyDeleteLike the Oscars and many other awards, an insular culture of political ideology has led the Nobel committee to make its choices based on an intent to push its politics, rather than reward any sort of real skill, talent or achievement. In the process, in another parallel to the Oscars, they have made their awards meaningless.
I read someone's statement that Obama should decline the award and say that he hasn't yet accomplished what he intends to. I think that would be a classy thing to do, expressing a certain humility that would be appreciated from him. I hope the million dollars at least goes to a good charity so some small good can result.
It's like you said, I suppose we should just give U2 the Grammy for their next album release since they clearly intend to deliver the goods. I just hope the president lives up to this "honor."
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