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Obama's Nobel Peace Prize
· Wednesday, October 28, 2009
According to Alfred Nobel's will, the Peace Prize should be awarded to the person who: "during the preceding year, shall have done ... the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." According to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, appointed by the Norwegian Parliament, 2009 saw a record 205 nominations who competed against President Barack Obama for this year's Nobel Laureate. We don't know the names of other nominees who were passed over because Nobel Foundation statutes do not permit information about nominations, considerations or investigations relating to awarding the prize to be made public for at least 50 years after a prize has been awarded. Nominations from 1901 to 1955, however, have been released. Past nominees included Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Benito Mussolini. Since it takes only one qualified person to nominate someone, these nominations do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Nobel committee members.
When I heard that Obama was selected for this year's Nobel Laureate, I felt a bit embarrassed for him, and given his comment in the Rose Garden, he must have felt a bit embarrassed as well. He said, "To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who have been honored by this prize, men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace."
Typically, the Nobel Prize is awarded to someone, or an organization, that has actually done something, even if that something is controversial or unwise. But what has President Obama accomplished compared to other Nobel Laureates? One might speculate that the Nobel Committee selected Obama because it has started an affirmative action policy and has seen the virtues of racial diversity, which is all the rage these days, particularly among the elite. After all, the committee hasn't seen fit to give the award to a person of African ancestry since it honored Nelson Mandela in 1993 and earlier Desmond Tutu (1984), Martin Luther King (1964) and Ralph Bunche (1950). So far as people of African ancestry, the Nobel Committee has a ways to go. While people of African ancestry are roughly 14 percent of the world's population, they are only five percent of the 98 individuals, since 1901, seen fit to be Nobel Laureates. Having awarded the Peace Prize to only three Asians, while Asians are almost 55 percent of the world's population, suggests that the Nobel Committee's Far Eastern diversity problem is insurmountable.
There might be other reasons why Obama was chosen. He has generated considerable goodwill among Europeans because he shares many of their values. Europeans are a people with little willingness to defend themselves. They are people who believe that peace treaties, appeasement and disarmament produce peace. As such, Obama has thrown in with their lot not to be a unilateralist and pledging to pursue a world without nuclear weapons. If Europeans had any sense, they should be worried about Obama's vision. Americans pulled their chestnuts out of the fire in World War I, World War II and prevented them from being gobbled up by the communists during the Cold War. If we become a military weakling, who is going to protect Europe against a future tyrant? In addition to Obama's goodwill among Europeans, shouldn't we be worried about the goodwill and praise our president has received from enemies of liberty such as Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Muammar Qaddafi and Vladimir Putin?
President Obama could rise several notches in my book if he refused the Nobel Peace Prize, with a nice letter to the Nobel Committee that might read: Since you did not see fit to award Ronald Reagan, the U.S. president who did the most for world peace in this century, by peaceably shutting down the Soviet Union, I respectfully decline your offer.
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Jsmith
Good article, as always, Dr Williams, but I'm concerned by your equal opportunity argument which seem to indicate an African or Asian is due to receive the award. It would be unlike you (I am a habitual reader of your articles and books) to make an argument of this nature -- quotas are not in your blood. Unfortunately, we don't know who was passed over for selection.
I think it's noteworthy as well that the three sitting presidents who have been made Nobel Laureates -- Wilson, TR, and Obama -- are also our three most prominent progressive presidents. I think that indicates a preference for folks of that ilk "since the olden days". Rightly or wrongly, the trend is there.
Let's hope those passed over this year are not dispirited by an obvious politically-based selection.
Posted October 28, 2009 at 4:38:06 PM
Andy
JSmith - I believe Dr. Williams is illustrating absurdity by being absurd. If they're trying to try for "American statist" style equal opportunity (which translates to equal results), he's implying that there would be nothing but asian Nobel prize winners for the next 50+ years. However, as he has pointed out in the past, to American statists, asians are not an oppressed group, so do not count for equal opportunity.
I think the Nobel Peace prize has been forever tainted by many of the past few selections.
Posted October 29, 2009 at 2:45:25 PM
Charlie E Hargrave
Well said, sir.
Posted October 29, 2009 at 4:23:40 PM
Songbird
I received the following in an email just after the President won his award: It is telling. I don't know however, after reading this article how this person found out that Irena was up for the award. Nevertheless, an interesting story and I am sure there are many, many like it we are unaware of.
"Irena Sendler
There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.
Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize .. She was not selected.
Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming. "
Songbird
Posted October 29, 2009 at 7:07:33 PM
Songbird
I received the following in an email just after the President won his award: It is telling. I don't know however, after reading this article how this person found out that Irena was up for the award. Nevertheless, an interesting story and I am sure there are many, many like it we are unaware of.
"Irena Sendler
There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.
Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize .. She was not selected.
Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming. "
Songbird
Posted October 29, 2009 at 7:46:40 PM
Songbird
I received the following in an email just after the President won his award: It is telling. I don't know however, after reading this article how this person found out that Irena was up for the award. Nevertheless, an interesting story and I am sure there are many, many like it we are unaware of.
"Irena Sendler
There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.
Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize .. She was not selected.
Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming. "
Songbird
Posted October 29, 2009 at 8:20:51 PM
randall hill
obama
he is not a nobel prize winner, some one doesn't know much about him. he bought the presidents office with foreign money.
Posted October 29, 2009 at 11:18:31 PM
Michael
Mr.Williams I don't like how you think that causing the soviet union too collapse is an act of peace sounds more like a war too me which is why they called it the cold war.
Posted November 3, 2009 at 5:08:02 PM