In Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will he specified the peace prize go “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses.”
Yesterday President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. People around the world are divided. With only nine months in office, has Obama accomplished enough to win the Nobel Peace Prize?
In accordance with Alfred Nobel’s criteria, what has Obama done to bring peace among nations? According to The Associated Press, committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said Obama “got the prize for what he has done.” Exactly. What has Obama done? The committee said Obama’s efforts to improve relations between the West and the Muslim world, as well as scale down President Bush’s anti-missile shield, have contributed to “a world with less tension.” Is this peace, or a political statement by the Nobel Peace Prize committee?
The committee failed to mention a few minor details. Currently the U.S. is in two major wars. Afghanistan alone has 100,000 U.S. and international troops on the ground. Within the next few weeks Obama may “surge” Afghanistan with more troops. The daily presidential tacking poll Rasmussen Reports shows only 29 percent of Americans strongly approve of Obama’s performance as president. Likewise, 39 percent strongly disapprove. Americans are also currently divided about Obama’s health care reform plan.
Of all the nominees has Obama done the most or the best work to bring peace? In my opinion, no. Nominations are kept secret for 50 years, unless those making submissions go public with their picks. This years nominees include Simi Samar, an Afghan woman’s rights activist, Columbian activist Piedad Cordoba and Denis Mukwege, a physician in Congo who opened a clinic to help rape victims. Some nominees put their lives on the line while others stood up for their rights, even if it meant standing alone. All of these nominees made a difference in their nation, not just promised it.
Was the award given too soon? Yes. Obama took office barely two weeks before the February 1 nomination deadline. While Obama’s message of hope and change motivated Americans, in two weeks it did not significantly reduce tension or bring world peace. Leaders in China, Poland and Venezuela agree the award was given too soon. Even the Taliban denounced the award, saying Obama did nothing but escalate the war in Afghanistan.
Actions speak louder than words. Obama’s actions don’t speak loud enough to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Previous peace prize recipients include Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and President Theodore Roosevelt. President Obama has big shoes to fill.
We’ve heard Obama’s speeches promising change, peace, hope and love. We get it buddy. Now it’s time to turn off the teleprompter and get to work. Like my friend Amy always says, “Don’t talk about it, be about it.”
♥ BB
If you disagree with the committee’s decision, feel free to e-mail them at: Comments@nobelprize.org.
* No complaints about the Obama pictures. I put up with Bush jokes for eight years 
I think the guy is trying. I also think he is pulled in to the “what’s best for my political party rather then my country” role far to often, like so many before him. I do like Obama, I think he is a sensational speaker and teleprompter or not, he kills on his delivery of his speeches especially during his campaign. That being said, I never dis-liked Bush. While many believe that this whole war thing was started cause Bush’s agenda and legacy is all about oil and making his good old D-A-D smile. I have to strongly dis-agree, our nation was back stabbed on our own soil, in our own New York, our greatest known city through out the world. The people that were killed didn’t all vote for Bush or agree with his politics. There were Muslims, Mormons, Catholics, Jews, Buddhist, Scientology enthusiasts, Atheists, etc. killed in that violent horrific attack against our country. We were punched in the face when we weren’t looking, everyone needs to watch Charlie Wilson’s War who disagrees with that. Finding who was responsible for that, and/or any individuals who help finance, prompt, or agreed with that heinous act and acting justly is what our nation should be doing. Not to mention as the most powerful nation in the world, with the strongest military we should be standing up for human rights all over the world. We should defend those that can’t defend themselves. In Iraq and Afghanistan it is still common practice to stone women to death if they are not “pure” for their husbands. They could be rape victims and still, they could loose their lives for disgracing their families. All I’m saying is that I would have been dead at 15 there, and I would hope and pray, to whatever god I believed in, that someone in this world would help change that, would stand up for me and my future children. Bush in many ways started that movement, regardless of oil stock.