The Prize

As everyone knows by now, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Since the announcement of the award, there has been significant public outcry, approval, disapproval and uncivil dialogue about the prize. I cannot believe the amount of vile statements that has been generated by the award of the Nobel Peace prize to Obama. Calm down people, it is a prize given by a group of judges in Sweden to someone they believe was worthy. Maybe he was worthy, maybe he wasn’t but what bearing does this award have on our personal life, none. Obama did not apply for or seek the award, he said he was surprised. Here is his comment on the award:

“I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace. But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women, and all Americans, want to build -- a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents. And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action -- a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.”

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to 93 individuals and 23 organizations during the last 90 years. Recipients include Henry Kissinger (an architect of the Viet Nam War), Yasser Arafat, several Arab leaders and Israeli leaders (whose countries have been at war forever), the International Atomic Energy Agency, a president of South Korea. Do you think these were worthy recipients? Maybe yes, maybe no, but who cares. It’s an award.

With all of the issues we as Americans have to deal with, wars, economic disasters, foreclosures, health care disaster, tsunami’s, global warming why is anyone spending one minute bitching about the awarding of a prize by some group in Sweden. It was done, its over, you may not agree but who gives a crap? Let’s spend time on something that matters. I imagine the same people critical of the prize being awarded to Obama would have thought it was just peachy if George Bush would have been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. I imagine that the same people praising the awarding of the prize to Obama would have spewed vile criticism if the prize had been awarded to Bush.

Let us spend our energy and our time on things that really matter. Let us get over this hateful, ever growing partisan warfare by the right fringe and the left fringe. Let us have meaningful debate over critical issues but let us do so without such vile personal attacks on those with whom we disagree. This personal attack methodology of political dissent seemed to hit full stride during the Clinton years, continued in the Bush years and in my view seems worse than ever.

This blog is suppose to be humorous or touching or something other than overtly political but I can’t tell you how tired I am hearing the barrage of hate, not just differences in opinion, but hate, we hear every day from those who disagree with one matter or another. Hate begats hate; hate causes retribution and revenge. For those who support President Obama, work to get him reelected and his programs approved by congress. For those who disagree with the President and his programs, work to get a new administration in 2012.

If you disagree with this blog entry, leave a comment, call me or send and email. We don’t have to agree with each other but we don’t have to be enemies because of our disagreements.