Why Such "Surprise and Confusion" Over President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Award?
Posted: Saturday, October 10, 2009
by Sandra E. Graham
My Books and Articles
"Shock" and "Surprise" seem to be the most descriptive wording used to characterize the nation's reaction to the news that President Obama has been awarded the most prestigious of all awards---The Nobel Peace Prize. Being only one of some 300 million Americans in the world today, I'm ‘shocked and surprised' at the ‘shock and surprise'.
Many have said this move to give the President a most coveted award is ‘too much, too soon,' and that talk is cheap. But I say that all great plans begin with words, ideas, innovation and motivation. President Obama is giving us all that and more. Whether or not we agree with all his views and ideas, we have to admit that he is and has made great strides in improving the views that the rest of the world have of the United States. He fulfilled his promise to give a speech at a major Islamic forum in his first 100 days in office. Emphasizing that the United States is not at war with Islam. "…..that we will, and should, stand together to defeat the prophets of hate and violence."
He has worked toward cleaning up the corrupt reputation of our previous governmental officials by requiring new hires to sign a form affirming that they were not hired due to political affiliation or contributions. President Obama has also banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees. He has curtailed the money-grubbing and abusive credit card rate hikes.
At the beginning of President Obama's term, Americans as a whole felt that our economy was likened to a snowball on a downward spiral to complete economic collapse. Today I don't think so many still feels this to be the situation. Sure, there are still people out there looking for jobs; and there are jobs to be had. It may not be the job one would prefer, might not pay what one was accustomed to earning; but it is a job that would certainly fill a gap until the economy comes closer to a full recovery. President Obama has extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspended taxes on those benefits.
To make a long story short, President Obama has had his victories and made his blunders in all phases of his short career and if you have kept up with the news, I'm sure you know what they are, so I won't list them out individually here and bore you with what you already know. Healthcare, Social Security Reform, Education, Economic Recovery, Environment, and foreign relations are among the more important issues facing our new, young leader. Let us pray for him and for our country and have faith that we will, one day soon, come back stronger and better than before.
This Article has been viewed 610 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsGreat article. Well done.Does this not show to people you have a fantastic president? Many of our Prime Ministers are noble. But thats only because they were Sir, Lord, Duke or Earl. How many world leaders have done that have won nobel prizes. I'd say your lucky.And I say good on Obama.Thank you. I agree. We should be proud as Americans that we have--and more than one---Nobel prize winner. Thanks for commenting.
Thanks Sandra, I couldn't agree with you more.Although, I have heard a lot of Nobel Prize winners interviewed after the fact, and they all seem to have at least the surprise part in common. Guess you can never fully prepare yourself for such an unexpected honor.Good job, Mr. President!- GThank you for reading and commenting. And yes, I think our President is doing a very good job with what he has to work with.
"Thank you, Ms. Sandra! Thank you," she tries to type through glistened eyes. Though filled with emotions, thankful for the hope that once was the foundation of civilization, she presents her gratitude.Your article is definitely one to grow on, Ms. Sandra. Thanks for sharing your views with us.And thank you, Ronyae. And may the peace in our World grow each day--as the plant in the meadow; some unseen and unsung but growing slowly ever upward.
Now, that was one passion-packed piece of literature, Susan. With my head lifted out of the sand of blindfolded partisan politics, I can admit that President Obama has already achieved much. For some of his devoted critics and opponents, though, no amount of achievement will ever suffice. Even if he were to achieve peace between Jews and Arabs before being awarded the Nobel, there would still be some contemptuously asking, "What has he done to deserve the Peace Prize?". ~mogama~Very true, Mogama. You can't make most of the people happy all of the time or all of the people happy most of the time! Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
Well, I'm a fairly smart kid in school and I've been applauded by my teachers. I've made decent marks and think I will graduate in the upper half of my fellow students. I have great plans to succeed and want to accomplish a lot. People mostly wish me well. Should I be valedictorian on my aspirations? Better yet, should I be awarded the biggest scholarship the school receives that year for an outstanding student? Since when do we give awards before they are justified - what's the message here?The message with the Nobel Peace prize, I think, is that there is one person who goes the extra mile to achieve goals that will benefit most if not the entire world. And yes, if your teachers and representatives think you have earned that scholarhship, you most certainly should receive it.Thanks for reading and commenting, OGM. And Welcome to Searchwarp.Sandra
Well, I for one, am not surprised. I stopped taking the Nobel Committee seriously a long time ago.Thanks for reading and commenting, Stephen. Sorry you have lost faith in a great award.Welcome to Searchwarp.Sandra
This topic was asked recently here on SearchWarp, and here, for the most part, was my answer:"He didn't deserve it. I love the guy, but this was not right. Now we give out awards (The Nobel no less) for talking about what our intentions and dreams are, rather than what we have done to carry them out.Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan were all great players, but none of them ever received the MVP award before the season began. You gain that award through hard work, dedication, and selflessness. Imagine giving one of these men the MVP in preseason because one of them said, "This year my goal is to average 50 points, 20 rebounds, and 15 assist a game."How would any parent like it if their child was overlooked or denied an award their child deserved? What if their kid worked hard on an important project, but got beat out by another kid who had relayed some great ideas for the project, but hadn't yet done anything to deserve the award?I looked up the definition of what the Nobel Peace Prize stands for, and here is what Webster's New Riverside Dictionary says, "An award made annually by the Nobel Foundation for distinguished "achievements" AND the "promotions" of peace."Did anyone notice the word "promotions" came AFTER the word "achievements"?
Yes, Obama has "promoted" peace, but who hasn't. There are 6 year old's who will stand before an auditorium of people and reply when asked, "What would you do if you were President?" And 75% of the time the child's answer will be, "I would "work" hard to make the world a more peaceful place."The key to Webster's definition is the word, "achievement." Need I say any more? Have we adults become such idiots, that when we define things we no longer have to live by those definitions?
Now I'm wondering if our children are blowing up schools, and we're locking up the school gates because they observe the ridiculousness of adults and think, "Why listen to adults when they give us something in writing to live by and believe in, but just when we begin to trust in them, they'll suddenly change gears and do whatever they want anyway."
Why are we adults defining things anymore if we are not going to live up to them? The Nobel Foundation taught me that the word "achievement" is now of lesser importance than the word "promotion." I guess now I will have to explain this "new exchange" to my grandson.I am sure there was someone worthy and waiting to receive this great award through their hard work and dedication, but it wasn't Obama. Would it have killed the Nobel Foundation to wait a couple of years to see if Obama does achieve his goals? What was the hurry to give the award now? Isn't the Nobel given out annually or every two years?Surely there are some underlying motives behind this decision they are not telling the public."Kenny__________________________________________________-*** So as you can see, we are in disagreement here Sandra. I'd like to give my opinions on some things you covered about this topic, and the many which have absolutely nothing to do with it."President Obama's campaign against nuclear arms; his fight to ease the conflict between Muslims and Christians of all nations; and his calls for peace and cooperation in a world that seems intent on destroying itself shows him to be dedicated to his firm beliefs that it can and will be done!"*** Yeah well, how many times have we heard the mantras of past Presidents like Bush, "We will find and capture O'bama Bin Laden, yet it still hasn't come to fruition. Why didn't Bush get an award for saying that, and if he had, right now he and the Nobel Foundation would be looking pretty foolish - no? Isn't fighting terrorism a major move toward peace for the rest of us?" He doesn't take all the credit for the direction, in which our great nation is gradually taking; but rather, shares it with the American people as a whole."*** Why just share it with the American people? Since when is the ideal of peace exclusive to Americans only? Shouldn't he have said something like, "I hereby place this award upon my shoulders for the whole world to see because I want the world to know that I know we all share this dream together, and it is ours together."*** I think "Ex-conservative" said it best in his/her post: "I think it is completely arrogant of such Americans to be so opinionated about this. This is not an American prize, it is a World-wide prize. Despite our incredible selfishness and narrow-mindedness, it's not always all about us!""Many have said this move to give the President a most coveted award is ‘too much, too soon,' and that talk is cheap.*** Talk is cheap! It's all about backing up one's words that matters."But I say that all great plans begin with words, ideas, innovation and motivation. President Obama is giving us all that and more."*** Yes, but they are not a reason for a prestigious award - until those words and ideas are made effective through action."Whether or not we agree with all his views and ideas, we have to admit that he is and has made great strides in improving the views that the rest of the world have of the United States."*** "Improving views" is no basis for winning awards. However, action IS, and his actions need to stand the test of time before we can award the man."He fulfilled his promise to give a speech at a major Islamic forum in his first 100 days in office."***Fulfilling a promise to speak is part of his job. It's like saying, "Today Tom the truck driver fulfilled his promise to load the truck" - when it's part of Tom's paid duty to do so." Emphasizing that the United States is not at war with Islam."…..that we will, and should, stand together to defeat the prophets of hate and violence."*** Nothing new in that statement. We've been fighting "terrorism" for some time now."He has worked toward cleaning up the corrupt reputation of our previous governmental officials by requiring new hires to sign a form affirming that they were not hired due to political affiliation or contributions. President Obama has also banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees. He has curtailed the money-grubbing and abusive credit card rate hikes."*** And none of these things have anything to do with the Nobel. It appears as though Sandra you're trying too hard to make a case for Obama's award, and you are reaching for anything to justify it."At the beginning of President Obama's term, Americans as a whole felt that our economy was likened to a snowball on a downward spiral to complete economic collapse. Today I don't think so many still feels this to be the situation. Sure, there are still people out there looking for jobs; and there are jobs to be had. It may not be the job one would prefer, might not pay what one was accustomed to earning; but it is a job that would certainly fill a gap until the economy comes closer to a full recovery. President Obama has extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspended taxes on those benefits."*** Again, none of this has anything to do with the Nobel "Peace" prize. If you take away all your smokescreen examples; "extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspended taxes on those benefits, cleaning up the corrupt reputation of our previous, banning lobbyist, etc.," your Nobel argument is baseless."To make a long story short, President Obama has had his victories and made his blunders in all phases of his short career and if you have kept up with the news, I'm sure you know what they are, so I won't list them out individually here and bore you with what you already know. Healthcare, Social Security Reform, Education, Economic Recovery, Environment, and foreign relations are among the more important issues facing our new, young leader."*** Again, nothing here has anything to do with PEACE."Let us pray for him and for our country and have faith that we will, one day soon, come back stronger and better than before."*** Suddenly this article turned into a chant of American pride, and all this time I thought we were on the topic of Obama's "Nobel Peace" award. Hey, what do I know? I say go back Sandra and delete everything irrelevant to the award, and I bet your article and "Obama promotion" will look pretty skimpy.WHat can I say, Kenny. I guess you've said it all. Have a good day.
Sandra,All do respect to your person and your writing, job well done. I totally agree with everything you said. However, the reason people is shocked because he is an African-American. He has achieved what no white man has in such a short period of time.I am on the outside looking in. I see President Obama challenged daily. All of it is based on the color of his skin. You may agree or disagree, yet it remains that he has committed himself to excellence inspite of who says what.He deserves everything he has achieved. Because , it is amazes me when a white person does ordinary things and they are called genius. Yet when a black man or woman does or achieve the extraordinary it is a flock.I will keep reading and you keep writing.Sincerely,LawrenceHi Lawrence, Yes, I do agree the playing field is crooked, but we need to correct it, and level it out, and not compound unfairness with more unfairness.I'm a white male who has no problem with the skin color of any achiever, but let's please let them achieve their agenda first before rewarding them.KennyThank you, Lawrence, and I'm regrettably think you may be right. Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
Thanks for a very well written article. I couldn't agree with you more.Thank you, Joyce, for reading and commenting.Welcome to SearchWarp. Looking forward to reading some of your contributions.Sandra
In light of what took place Tuesday evening (O'bama sending 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan), I wonder if you still feel the same about him and the prize now.Think of the oxymoron here: Nobel Peace Prize winner sends 30,000 more troops to WAR.
It's clear to me now why they gave him the prize. They knew the public would not go for additional troops in Afghanistan unless they put a "Christ-like" figure at the helm to convince them it was with good reason.
More comments
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.