Friday, October 9, 2009

Nobel prizes for everyone!

According to the website for the nobel prize, there have been four Presidents win the award and three sitting Presidents. Theodore Roosevelt won for brokering the peace between Russia and Japan, Woodrow Wilson won for founding the League of Nations (even though the U.S. didn't join it) and Carter won (not while in office) for his years of diplomatic efforts, sort of a lifetime achievement in effect. The newest U.S. President to win is Barack Obama and he won “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” So, in other words, he got an A for effort? After all, we aren't any safer than we were when he took office in January and there have been no peace deals since January. Obama has traveled around apologizing for all our past mistakes and even a few some would argue weren't mistakes, he's said he'll sit down with Ahmadinejad (a man who'd just assume shoot us all as talk with us) and he's shaken the hand of Chavez (a man who has suppressed freedom of speech, press and assembly), not to mention shunning our greatest allies and newest friends (Britain and the Czech Republic) while agreeing to the demands of countries like Russia that would rather see Iran and North Korea with nuclear weapons than actually vote for sanctions on those countries at the UN. Sorry, it seems to me they've given this award for what our President MIGHT do, not for anything he's actually done. At least all three previous examples of Presidents who did win this award had done something great to deserve it. I know, I must be unpatriotic or racist for feeling like the President hasn't done anything to deserve this award right? Nope, neither, that's just what people will say to shut up anyone that thinks maybe, just maybe, the Nobel committee got it wrong. I don't know who the President was up against because they keep all the nominees secret for 50 years (I guess they don't like controversy, after all, once the 50 years went by it turned out people like Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin all have been nominated in the past). I just think this must have been a slow year peace wise. Do you think I deserve the nobel prize for literature because I have 4 unfinished books that MIGHT be the next great piece of world literature? If you answer that question no, then you'd be right. It would also mean you should agree with my statement above. While the President MIGHT achieve great diplomatic feats, he hasn't done anything yet and therefore this award has as much weight as if they were to give one to me for my unfinished books.

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