History of the Global Now
Obama for peace
Terese Howard
10/10/09
There has been much talk in the past few days about whether Obama should or should not have won the Nobel Peace prize. Whether he deserved it or not. There is no “should” or “should not have” in winning the Nobel Peace prize. There is no way to weigh the data of a person’s life to see how much peace they have produced (or will produce in the future) and then compare that with everyone else in the pool of peace makers. The question is rather, what is the prize intended to do? What is the political strategy of giving this prize to Obama at this time?
One critique, Josef Joffe, argues that “The prize was surely more anti-Bush than pro-Obama.” Others argue that it is an attempt to push forward Obama’s anti-nuclear weapons agenda. Whatever the reason or reasons, it is clear that “peace” seen as a positive political goal.
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/what-does-a-nobel-do-for-us-leaders/?hp
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2 comments:
I applaud Obama's moves to de-escalate some wars (several of them going right now) by announcing the close of gitmo, scrapping the european defense missile shield bullshit, telling the dea to lay off medical marijuana patients/caregivers, but those are not real actions yet. they are merely announcements that might or might not effect the course of the war on civil liberties (which in many other ways obama is escalating), the cold war (it's sposed to be over, but it ain't), and the war on drugs (which one could lump into the war on civil liberties). what will actually happen remains to be seen, and i remain skeptical. and what of the war in afghanistan? what of the war in iraq? what of the war on poverty/prejudice/whatever-else-that-can't-be-fought-but-we're-gonna-fight-it-anyway-so-you'll-be-compliant-with-our-oppression-for-the-sake-of-the-people? can a war on war produce peace? i think not. i think, probably, obama does not deserve this award, but i also think that he is nowhere close to alone in that designation. one might be able to make a case that the only ones who deserve an award for peace-making are those who would turn it down. sorry if the comment doesn't make a lot of sense. just rambling, i guess.
Merely anouncments. Do the Nobel prize givers give a fuck if I anounce that I shall end the war, give all the hungery food, and all the children love?
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