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Obama – An “A” for effort

Find out why Obama did deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.

By: Kyle Slone

These days everyone has their own negatively charged remark concerning the highly coveted Nobel Peace Prize being granted to President Obama for, supposedly, “not doing anything yet.”  This is a common retort among even the most vehement Obama supporters right now.

But has President Obama really not done anything?  Look back a few months during the Presidential Campaigns of 2008.  Obama brought a weary nation together around one simple, yet strong, idea:  change.  He transformed into a rock star overnight, with people dawning t-shirts portraying the President’s face in shades of red, white, and blue.  And the majority of the nation, including myself stood together chanting his name in unison, proclaiming their support.

But the confusion surrounding Obama’s Peace Prize is understood.  “He hasn’t done anything yet,” says Amanda Milone, an Education and History major at Salem State College.  Yes, it seems Obama has not done anything yet, but according to the press release from the Nobel Committee, he was awarded the prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

Obama is receiving the award for his efforts.  This seems a little backwards; as if all that is needed are good intentions and a heart full of dreams to win the award.  Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy.  More specifically, the Nobel Committee is awarding Obama the 2009 Peace Prize for “creating a new climate in international politics,” referencing his multilateral approach to restoring peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The Nobel Committee mentions, “Only rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future.”  We forget that not only did Obama capture our hearts but he also captured the hearts of people from other countries.  He conveyed hope to

…as if all you need is good intentions and a heart full of dreams to win the award.

millions in a time of utter despair.  Now, if that isn’t reason enough to receive a Peace Prize, I don’t know what is.

Even the Norwegian Nobel Committee has “sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman.” Obama wasn’t only the saving grace for the United States of America, but for the entire world, as he works to end these wars in the Middle East and prevent wars between Iran and North Korea.  We endured former President George W. Bush and his policies of kill everyone and never look back, and now we have a President that wants to permit diplomacy first and give peace a try.

People seem to forget that the Nobel Peace Prize has nothing to do with curing the incurable or generating new scientific theories.  The Peace Prize is about, well, promoting and creating peace.  We looked to him to mend every problem the world is enduring.  And he took up position and said, “Yes, we can.”  For that, President Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Kyle Slone is an English Major in the Professional Writing Program who enjoys red wine, sunset beach walks, and President Obama.