I am usually pretty well informed about the current events of the day, but today, for various reasons and circumstances, I had not had time yet to pay much attention to the news headlines that were flashing on websites and TV screens around me about US President Barack Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.
Thinking that it must be yet another crazy idea cooked up by some left-wingers, I had shrugged it off as a mere proposal – or a joke. Imagine my surprise when I finally found the time to follow up on the story, only to learn that Obama had, indeed, been awarded the prestigious award.
The Nobel Peace Prize, once awarded to real purveyors of peace and a better understanding between people and peoples, such as Bertha von Suttner, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Albert Schweitzer or Martin Luther King, was first devalued when it was given to Yasser Arafat, and then almost brought down to zero value when handed to snake-oil salesman and yarn-spinner Al Gore for his home video filled with convenient falsehoods, An Inconvenient Truth.
Now, even Barack Obama himself knows that the Nobel Peace Prize has lost its prestige and lustre for good. The president looked extremely uncomfortable having been placed in this situation. Winning a prize for something he has not done yet, and may never do in fact, is something Obama clearly did not want. If given a chance, he surely would have told the Nobel committee to select a more worthy candidate.
Obama does deserve plaudit for becoming the first African-American president. But his election has not ended the racial rift, nor has it united America in any shape or form. As a matter of fact, many of his extremely leftist policies proposed or implemented so far, pushed on him by the radical socialists and communists in the Democratic Party, such as Nancy Pelosi, have opened both old and new fissures and brought the country to the brink of a civil war.
As for the issue of racism, Obama himself exhibited traces of anti-white bigotry when he quickly sided with Henry Louis Gates and condemned white police officers. At the same time, many African-Americans have not been pleased with their “brother’s” performance either. One African-American, for example, blasts Obama several times a week from his Internet radio mic.
The American president has also failed to deliver on his election-campaign promises with respect to the Middle East, Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan. Ever since Obama took office and started meddling in these various trouble spots, the fronts have hardened. Israel is more reluctant than ever to accept directives from the White House, both Iran and North Korea are thumbing their noses at the US president, Pakistan is becoming more and more anti-American and pro-Taliban (and pro-terrorism), and Afghanistan is very likely to become Obama’s own Vietnam.
On economic and trade matters, Obama has not produced any results either. Instead of fostering greater international cooperation, his administration has actively promoted protectionist measures (“Buy American”) while speaking out of both sides of its collective mouth. The president has made several promises to Canada, for example, that the “Buy American” nonsense would be lifted again, but as the Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, knows only too well by now, they were only empty promises. And to spice things up even further, the Obama administration has triggered a trade war with China over car tires.
People around the world, including the usual supporters of leaders like Obama, must be extremely disappointed today. Not only were more deserving peace activists passed over for the greatest honour in the field, but the accomplishments of 120-odd individuals and organizations recognized and honoured with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize have also been diminished. Most of those previous laureates sacrificed their personal lives to make even the tiniest difference in other people’s lives. By comparison, Obama has done and accomplished diddly-squat.
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