Before we get started, I should probably give a little disclaimer: I like Barack Obama. I may not agree with everything he says or does, but I still have a lot of respect for the guy. He's intelligent, he orates well, he is making unprecedented improvements in international relations and he is attempting some well-intentioned (although lofty) projects. I still even get a little rush when I think about 2008's election.
However, I also liked seeing Iron Man in theaters. But as much as I love the irresistible combination of Robert Downey Jr. and superheroes, the movie understandably didn't win the Oscar for Best Picture. And similarly, as much as I love Nebraska football, the Huskers shouldn't be going to the BCS National Championship game this year. Get my drift?
Here's the deal: I like President Obama, but he should not have won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee decided to give the award to Obama because of his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Nevertheless, we need to keep in mind that "efforts" are different from results. True, Obama has instigated several important policy decisions: beginning nuclear talks with Iran, fostering relations with the oft-stigmatized Muslim world and promoting economic collaboration. While these steps are crucial, they are still in their primary stages. Perhaps, if they mature into groundbreaking reforms in world policy, Obama will deserve the Nobel Prize. Today, he does not.
Instead, the Nobel Committee has resorted to playing the mommy role to the United States' toddler. Elect a bad president, they will mock and despise you for eight years. Pick a more socially acceptable one, and they'll give you a cookie - a $1.4 million Nobel cookie. It's positive reinforcement on the international stage.
But when they are so fixated on the biggest kid of the bunch, they tend to forget the rest. I'm talking about the dozens of other nations who have been revolutionized by strong, passionate leaders who are, in many cases, risking their lives for the advancement of their causes. So, in my hypothetical world where the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize hasn't been announced, here are my nominees:
Morgan Tsvangirai, current prime minister of Zimbabwe, and a main dissident of President Robert Mugabe's tyrannical reign. Despite four arrests and a round of government-sponsored torture, Tsvangirai has remained loyal to the Movement for Democratic Change, the political party he founded that advocates democracy and social freedom in Zimbabwe. Now, he is attempting to cooperate with one of the worst dictators in the world in an attempt to further the cause of his people.
Sima Samar, national head of women's affairs in Afghanistan and the first woman to be named deputy premier in the Afghan
government. Samar first used her medical degree to treat refugees in border camps. Since 1987 she has managed to establish 10 clinics and four hospitals for women and children, along with schools in rural Afghanistan for 17,000 students. If that's not enough, she has also started programs in the country that promote literacy, hygiene and family planning.
The Rev. Nguyen Van Ly, a Vietnamese Roman Catholic Priest and the leading advocate for democracy and religious freedom in his country. In 2006, he was put on trial for supporting Bloc 8406, a manifesto that demanded democracy reforms in Vietnam. Ly was sentenced to eight years in prison because of his work, but he still managed to shout "Down with Communism" at his trial before being smothered by the officer behind him. (You can view the chill-inducing video online.)
So, Barack, I'm really happy for you, and I'm going to let you finish, but Tsvangirai, Samar and Ly had some of the best peace efforts of all time. You would be wise to acknowledge them, or at least some of the individuals who made major contributions to global peace - Piedad Cordoba, who negotiated the release of Colombian hostages, Hu Jia, advocate of free expression in China, even the Iranian students and journalists protesting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's rule.
But even so, as much I dislike the Nobel Peace Prize decision, I still like Obama. And if he seizes this opportunity and starts making major advancements in nuclear policy and global relations - well, that's an achievement that is truly noble.
