I try to keep my own personal political opinions to myself on this blog. Even though I have strong beliefs, I'm not educated enough to really analyze current events. However, there is something that concerns me, and I hope I won't stir up a hornet's nest too much.
As you all know, President Barack Obama was just rewarded the Nobel Peace Prize. According to reports, the award was designed to encourage his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism. While I applaud Obama's efforts to end nuclear weapons and reach out to the Muslim world, I haven't seen much fruition yet. Let's face it: no one's giving up their nukes yet, the Afghanistan war is going nowhere, and the last time I checked technically we're still fighting in Iraq.
Now don't think that I'm joining any Tea Party. I prefer to stay away from political parties and labels. [Instead of labels like "liberal," "conservative," or "libertarian," I prefer to call myself simply a "peacenik."] All I'm saying is don't award the tree before it bears fruit. When Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, his words had a tremendous affect on the Civil Rights movement. With Obama, right now it's just words, just planting seeds. It's too soon to tell whether or not those seeds will bear fruit.
Well, that's enough political stuff for now. Three day weekend coming up!
writing again
4 weeks ago
Exactly Travis! I'm thinking of another President who won the prize, Teddy Roosevelt. He successfully mediated a treaty between the parties in the Russo-Japanese war in 1905, ending the conflict. That would seem to be worthy of a "Peace Prize." Instead of the Peace Prize, the judged should have made up a new award, the Nobel Extravagant Rhetoric Award, for well spoken, unrealized great deeds.
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