As I listened to the news on the way in to town this morning, I heard President Obama‘s name mentioned as a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, and my immediate reaction was: yeah right. I thought, he hasn’t done anything yet, maybe in eight years, if he accomplishes many of the goals he set out on the campaign trail, he’ll be worthy of consideration for the prize, but not yet, not by a long shot.
I spent the day in town, away from televisions and radios. Not even giving the prize a second thought. When I picked up Rainer from work, he asked, “Did you hear about Obama? He got the Nobel Peace prize.”
My initial reaction was shock. I couldn’t believe it. “Seriously? But what has he done?”
Rainer and I discussed it the whole way home. Why would the Nobel Committee award Obama with the Peace Prize?
Among Facebook friends, some think the Nobel Committee has lost all credibility, some think the Committee is drinking the Obama Kool-Aid, some say this proves the prize is worthless. Maybe, but I don’t think so.
In my opinion, it’s for what he CAN do. What he has the potential to do.
He has it in his power to make huge strides towards world peace. He has already changed the tenor of diplomacy in the world, just by saying the United States is willing to listen and to compromise with friends and foes alike. He shocked many by announcing his intentions towards nuclear disarmament.
Rainer likens it to West German Chancellor Willy Brandt winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971. He tells me that prior to the win, a lot of Germans were very critical and suspicious of Brandt’s Ostpolitik, of trying to change the Eastern bloc and USSR not through isolation, but through engagement. The win of the Peace Prize gained his policies much support among the German people and were probably a large stepping stone towards the fall of the Soviet Union and the opening of the East.
Perhaps President Obama is not the most deserving nominee, but he is the ONE person in the world right now with the most potential for changing the world for the better. And I think the Nobel Committee wants to see him follow through on that potential.
Maybe this early award of a Peace Prize will cause the loss of the Committee’s credibility, or maybe it will be seen someday as the point where the world began to change for the better. Personally, I’m hoping for the latter. But only time will tell.
What do you think? What was your initial reaction? Has it changed at all?
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I think the award was given based on Obama being the diplomatic antithesis to Bush–someone the Nobel committee truly despised. His election gave the world a sigh of relief, and has boosted U.S. appeal overseas. Having the US engaged and interactive instead of dictating definitely brings about better relations for everyone.
at this point, i am only waiting with bated breath for poor obama to cash in on his early laurels. i wouldn’t want to be in his shoes even less than i had wanted before. that is some weight on his shoulders now.
.-= rita´s last blog ..the colours of german woods in autumn =-.
I have to say, when I heard the news, I was embarrassed. I don’t dislike Obama at all, it just would have been more sweet if he indeed had something to celebrate. When Obama himself seems genuinely surprised, it just seems so out of place. The fact, too, that he had been in office only 12 days when the nominations were due lends itself to criticism.
There are SO many people who right now are passionately working for peace showing real, tangible results. Lives being saved, families reunited, children protected, deadly diseases being wiped out. Sadly, no one seems to inspired to bring about peace by this year’s award. Rather they are impassioned to either discredit the President or defend him…once again, true work towards peace is lost in the politics of it all.
I tend to think it’s for what he can do. I just hope he does it. Really, the poor guy has to prove himself even more,e ven bigger now, thanks to this prize. All the nay sayers put my teeth on edge though. The man has the potential but so many people want to ignore it. And some people even have the nerve to say he won it for being black. People make me sick.
.-= Lilacspecs´s last blog ..Secret of the Ooze =-.
i think it’s changed. it should be for what people HAVE done, not potential, otherwise a lot of folks should get it…
also. hello. Bono was passed over yet again.
*I like Obama, I just think other people deserved it more is all. The deadline for nominations was Feb 1 and that means he’d have been in office only 11 days. I just find that odd is all.
.-= Juliette´s last blog ..Sewing: A Little Girl’s Bag =-.
I think Raging Bull may be correct. I’ve seen it said that part of it may have to do with the fact that the world opinion of America had sunken so low over the last couple decades, and Obama has done more for the world opinion of America than probably any president since Kennedy (or FDR). He has shown the world that there is still hope for America, and while I’m not sure that that warrants a Nobel Peace Prize, it does at least warrant some recognition.
.-= Kelsey´s last blog ..Travels with Smutka =-.
Tough call. This got me head-scratching, too. I’ve not decided yet whether Obama’s warranted the Nobel (still leaning toward not), but I did hear somewhere it’s a myth that the Peace Prize is only granted for accomplishments. Plenty of prizes are given out for, as you say, potential as well. I’d guess it’s more about the halo effect of what Obama represents to world peace than what he himself has done so far, is the rationale. But the man did, for instance, just last week even, refuse to meet with the Dalai Lama for fear of angering those human rights experts China, just for one recent instance of how the man’s actions differ from what he represents. So there’s that. There’s realpolitik and then there’s Realpolitik. But the Willy Brandt comparison, which is a good one, happens to be the same given by the Nobel committee chairman himself. http://bit.ly/GL9LA
.-= Ben´s last blog ..Tuna da Week {40} Sparing the Messenger =-.
Maybe Scandinavia just wants a visit from him!
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for Obama’s “efforts to strengthen international diplomacy…”, and thus the potential and hope for change he has already shown — yes it seems early, but like the Willy Brandt award, it was given as a boost and vote of confidence. Yes, it’s political, but there’s precedence for that.
.-= naturelady´s last blog ..Goulash and Paprikash =-.
I couldn’t agree more with what you Christina!
ugh I ment to say agree more with WHAT you said..lol
I just wish this had been used to draw attention to a low profile organisation or person who could use more help with his/her/its work. Just another opportunity missed in favour of a political message, which I think the committee has made twice in recent years. ugh. Frustrating.
.-= ann´s last blog ..Bound to get me in trouble =-.
Thank your for your post. It is refreshing to read a post and comments that are calm and mature. I was also surprised to hear about this news. I agree that it puts more pressure on Obama to meet, even exceed, expectations.
People say that he should decline it but is that really going to appease his opponents and naysayers or are they just trying to bully him into doing what they want in the guise of “doing the right thing”? My mom always told me that if someone says or does something nice, you should just thank them. I think that’s all he can do. Also, he is donating the prize money to a charity or two so, didn’t GOOD come out of this anyway?
And, I think people should remember that he didn’t ask for this and he didn’t campaign for this. This is a private award. People independently nominated him.
Lastly, it scares me that some of Obama’s opponents are so blinded by their desire to take HIM down that they forget that his failures are our country’s failures. So, tell me, how unpatriotic is that?
I wasn’t a fan of Bush but I am not so stubborn as to wish him ill will and failure in doing his job for the sake of saying, “See, I told you so.” I would rather be proven wrong when the stakes are so high for this country.
.-= Reez´s last blog ..Funny German: After = Anus =-.
Just rescued a bunch of comments on this post from spam. No idea why that happened, and just on this post.
Anyways, after more reflection, I understand why the committee awarded Obama with the Peace Prize, I can see their reasoning. The NY Times article Ben linked to above was very good in explaining their thoughts on this.
It does seem a little premature though. It’s not something that we can celebrate, because he hasn’t “done anything,” (although he has changed the diplomatic atmosphere considerably), but maybe that is a point too. Maybe it shouldn’t always be something to celebrate.
Like Reez, I also very much dislike the criticism coming from the right about this. He didn’t ask for it, he didn’t campaign for it. If he had turned it down, he’d be criticized for being too humble or something like that. While I disagreed vehemently with a lot of Bush’s policies, I most definitely did not WANT to see him fail and did not celebrate his failures, because his failures were also our country’s failures, and like it or not, a majority of Americans did vote him into the presidency. I accepted that and accepted him as my president. The current political climate just makes me sad.
From my perspective, coming from a racist area of the U.S. where anyone who isn’t white is viewed with suspicion and contempt, his election justifies the prize. I was raised by racist parents, although they weren’t open about it, and the views of the community I grew up in were similar. Personally I never understood this mindset and found it an oppressive way to live.
After eight years of a government that left me ashamed to be an American at times, when I heard Obama was running my interest was piqued so I bought and read his book “Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance”. In it I found not a politician, not a ‘black man’, but just a man first and foremost, with hopes I could identify with. I found I respected his message and manner, and am happy to say that thus far, his persona hasn’t strayed far from what I read in that book.
I believe it an important point that on his own soil he brought people together for a common goal who never would’ve joined in this way otherwise, and yes, I believe he has the potential to do even greater things if given the opportunity.
Turning on the television and seeing people of all ethnicities coming together to elect this man, standing together with a common dream, crying together, hoping together, rejoicing together, existing in peace with all the past hatreds and mistrust that exist in my country forgotten if only for that moment, will forever be etched into my memory as one of the greatest moments in the history of the U.S. If peace like this is possible for us, it’s possible between others, between countries, between enemies, and he was a catalyst.
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..somber =-.
Well, as a small note, I found it really interesting that both leaders in Israel and Iran thought the decision to be a good choice.