Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Ignoble Nobel Peace Prize

I have lost all respect for the Nobel Peace Prize. Not that they've had that great of a track record when it comes to who gets this award, but by giving it to Barack Obama they have done away with all pretense of actually caring about peace in the world. Perhaps a better name for this award would be the Nobel Rest in Peace Prize. Certainly there are only millions of others who are more deserving of a peace prize than Mr. Obama, myself included. Anyone who hasn't actively participated in the effort to continue the maintenance of a statist empire, especially by means of military occupation, deserves this prize more than Mr. Obama.

One would think that the Nobel Peace Prize committee would be interested in giving such a prize to someone who has worked against the establishment that fosters the conditions that cause war, violence and conflict in the world. One would think that they'd be interested in giving the award to a worthy, little known or under rated figure who could use the money, notoriety and prestige to further the cause of peace. Instead, this lazy, elitist group insult the intelligence of the common man by giving the award to someone who has shown the world that he can only read eloquently from a teleprompter and he is willing to promise everything and deliver nothing for the support and accolades of the few devotees who refuse to see through his deception. Mr. Obama continues to dangle promises in front of the needy while advancing the agenda of the rich and powerful elite. More and more people are beginning to realize just what a scam artist this man really is. The attempt by the Nobel Peace Prize committee to legitimize him should only serve to anger those of us who pay attention to actions instead of words.

But perhaps I'm being too harsh. Perhaps I should try to be a little more understanding. I suppose there is a possibility that the Nobel Peace Prize committee, being of Norwegian origin, simply do not understand the intricacies of the English language and American politics. Perhaps they take politicians at their word and believe they never misrepresent themselves. Maybe that's what politicians are like in Norway. I very much doubt it, but I'm willing to give the committee the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps there is no real planned attempt to propagandize the prize and they just need to be a little better informed. If that's the case, I have a few suggestions.

My first suggestion at who should have won the prize would be Ron Paul. He did, of course, make an even more complete promise than Barack Obama did when he said about the Iraq conflict “We just marched in, we can just march out.” His Campaign for Liberty endorses peaceful change to help rid us of intrusive government laws and their use of force that is the source of so much violence in this world. Using the same criteria as used by the Nobel Peace Prize committee, I personally would have more hope for a nuclear free world with Ron Paul as president than I do with Barack “Iran has a secret nuclear program” Obama. In fact, where they see hope, I fear for lack of sanity.

Some who read this may write me off as nothing but a sycophant for Dr. Paul. Perhaps they're right and I do carry too much admiration for him, but if the members of the Nobel Peace Prize committee can be sycophants for Mr. Obama, why shouldn't I do the same for Dr. Paul? My admiration for Dr. Paul may not be as profitable for him as the committee's admiration of Mr. Obama is to the president, but you can rest assured that it is likely quite a bit more sincere.

Aside from the words of peace Ron Paul has uttered, he has actually taken real action to effect a transition to a more peaceful world. He has gone right to the source of violence and is taking on those who enable war and create the incentives to kill and destroy. His audit the Fed initiative would delve into the dealings of the very people who finance these inhumane ventures. The very system of fiat money and the central banks with their monopolies on its creation makes it possible to finance military adventurism and pass on the costs to the progeny of the populace. How much more peaceful would this world be if we had to directly pay for our wars by the taxing and taking of our own treasure? It wouldn't surprise me to find that war would quickly become unaffordable in such a case, as well it should be. Of course the mere fact that Dr. Paul is taking on the establishment likely precludes him from receiving any award given out by the establishment which both Mr. Obama and the Nobel Prize Peace committee are part of.

There are so many others more deserving of the peace prize it would be impossible to name them all. I'd like to point out a few. Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury risks his life by publishing his newspaper The Weekly Blitz in Bangladesh, regularly shining a light on the violence and injustices taking place in central Asia and advocating for peaceful conflict resolution. Punita Lohani and others at the Women News Network have been struggling to expose the violence against women prevalent in Nepal and bring about peaceful co-existence and understanding in that part of the world. Buddhist monks in Thailand put their lives on the line to try to bring about a peaceful change and a freer society to that country. Certainly any of those named above would are far more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than Mr. Obama who sits confidently upon his presidential throne and risks absolutely nothing of consequence as he talks a good game but delivers no goods, and I'm sure there are many, many others more deserving that I don't know about.

I was thinking about using this space to toot my own horn, to write about how my own writings advocating peace qualify me for such an award, but I've changed my mind. I'm just a lowly blogger who can do nothing more than express my opinions for others to read. As much as I'd like to be lighthearted about this subject, it's too serious to take it so lightly. There are far too many people around this world dying, being tortured, and being oppressed by governments, agents of the state, or groups with ties to those with governmental powers. These people are not laughing about such matters, nor are they interested in such foolishness as they suffer. My heart goes out to them.

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize should be taken seriously. Such an award could be well used by agencies that would apply it in a much more positive and appropriate way than any sitting president ever could. It's a shame that others who can do little more than write about it have to put so much more thought into who should receive such an award than did those who were entrusted with the task.

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