I suppose the surprise announcement that President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize will have some cheering, others questioning, and a few protesting. I imagine the speculation of whether he has done enough to merit such an honor, if the few months of his presidency could compete with the accomplishments of the other candidates, would lead to side by side comparisons and subjective opinions of what then does this award mean, and who really deserves it. So I decided before anything I would look into the Nobel Peace Prize to find out what it's about. Here, simply put, I read and I quote "according to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who 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."It's easy enough to say that when the race for election started we were all begging for a change. Our state of mind collectively, as a nation, was as defeated as our economy and our place in the world as leaders. Our previous administration failed all of us, not just Democrats, not just Republicans, not just a certain class of people, but all of us. We needed to believe in our leaders again, at least have a little faith. We needed to feel like we can get back up and be strong and confident and well respected once more. We needed to feel that we would be able to find ways to survive the recession, keep our homes, strengthen our resources. We needed to believe that We too had some say, some sense of control over our own destiny. We were ready to vote someone in who listened, who was thoughtful, who had a more balanced sense of community and fairness. Someone who understood that we were all equal not just under the law of the United States Of America, but the unspoken law of humanity. Someone who knew our place within the world. And so, when Obama spoke for us instead of to us, when Obama kept his composure and didn't succumb to the nasty tactics we have become used to from both sides of the house, when Obama said change is attainable, YES YOU CAN, we did, we voted him in. The world cheered. As it turns out, they needed a hero amongst us too. They needed us to have a leader that respected them. Obama was not just our hope, he was their hope too. I supposed when the world listened to Obama speak, they heard a sense of fairness and truth, accountability and firmness that inspires hope. Finally there was someone in charge willing to listen and ask questions, be reflective. In a time when it all seemed so dismal, here was someone willing to do the unthinkable, he was willing to actually think things through. He inherited the biggest mess any new administration has had to clean up, multitasking would still not cut it. Not only did he have this to straighten out, but in this culture of quick fixes, we expected 8 years worth of damage to be restored to it's glory in 8 weeks. Yes, it's true there is still a war going on...Yes, it's true the economy is still fragile, though better than it was.....Yes it's true, we are still in a complete mess.....But dignity and integrity have been restored to the office of Presidency. Our President is no longer the worlds punchline, or ours for that matter. That makes a great difference.
So do I feel that President Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize?
I believe that the true road to Peace lies within the willingness to fairly compromise without compromising your soul. I believe the road to Peace lies within respect, responsibility, openness, contemplation, honesty, accountability. I believe the road to Peace lies within understanding. I believe the road to Peace lies within honoring human rights. I believe the road to Peace begins and continues with hope, without it, we are lost. So yes, without a doubt, I believe President Obama deserves this award. Now I HOPE he can continue to live up to it...........
Yes He Can...........................if we help him...........
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