Obama's Nobel Peace Prize
I really don’t understand why Obama winning the Peace Prize actually upsets so many people. At first I thought it was because maybe some think that he really didn’t deserve it – but the Peace Prize is at least partially (I think largely) about inspiring hope and promise for a better future, and I think anyone can see that Obama did just that during his campaign. And before anyone says that I’m just drinking the Obama kool-aid – I wasn’t for him in the beginning. But he won me over. By his rhetoric and by inspiring people across the nation and across the world. How often is it that people in countries that despise America rejoice in the celebration of his presidency? It wasn’t because they thought they got one over on us. Obama is an inspiration. So maybe it’s about racism.
And no, of course the war isn’t over yet. No one who is honestly thinking about the troops or the people we were originally trying to save would assume that pulling out of the war immediately is a good idea. Things take time. They do. And I think it is a testament to the hope that Obama inspired that people expect such fast government action. He made us believe that change is possible, but anyone who knows anything about anything knows that it isn’t just signing one paper – anyone who has ever seen The West Wing knows that. There is a lot that goes into presidential politics. There are flaws in the way things are run, of course there are, but that’s no reason to stop supporting the government completely and, say, voting for a candidate that doesn’t have a chance of winning. That borders on apathy.
There are times when “piecemeal” change is necessary. Overhauling the healthcare system, for example, is difficult. And I am not surprised that it hasn’t happened yet – that kind of change takes time. It does. And this isn’t naivete, which I’m sure will be mentioned, and it isn’t false optimism – I am not overly optimistic. But believing in change doesn’t mean you’re stupid. Believing that things will change OVER TIME is hope, and that is why Obama deserves the Peace Prize. It might have been because he’s the first black president, I guess that’s the argument, but what’s wrong with that? Isn’t that a huge step forward for the nation that after slavery and imprisonment and necessary affirmative action and the Civil Rights Movement we are able to place a black man in charge of the entire nation? Doesn’t that inspire peace and hope across the country and throughout the world? It does, and if you disagree with that statement, I guess I don’t have anything else to say because you don’t get why this presidency is important and why inspiring hope is necessary. After eight years of insanity the country was basically comatose. Don’t we need something to snap us out of it? Doesn’t that deserve recognition?
And no, of course the war isn’t over yet. No one who is honestly thinking about the troops or the people we were originally trying to save would assume that pulling out of the war immediately is a good idea. Things take time. They do. And I think it is a testament to the hope that Obama inspired that people expect such fast government action. He made us believe that change is possible, but anyone who knows anything about anything knows that it isn’t just signing one paper – anyone who has ever seen The West Wing knows that. There is a lot that goes into presidential politics. There are flaws in the way things are run, of course there are, but that’s no reason to stop supporting the government completely and, say, voting for a candidate that doesn’t have a chance of winning. That borders on apathy.
There are times when “piecemeal” change is necessary. Overhauling the healthcare system, for example, is difficult. And I am not surprised that it hasn’t happened yet – that kind of change takes time. It does. And this isn’t naivete, which I’m sure will be mentioned, and it isn’t false optimism – I am not overly optimistic. But believing in change doesn’t mean you’re stupid. Believing that things will change OVER TIME is hope, and that is why Obama deserves the Peace Prize. It might have been because he’s the first black president, I guess that’s the argument, but what’s wrong with that? Isn’t that a huge step forward for the nation that after slavery and imprisonment and necessary affirmative action and the Civil Rights Movement we are able to place a black man in charge of the entire nation? Doesn’t that inspire peace and hope across the country and throughout the world? It does, and if you disagree with that statement, I guess I don’t have anything else to say because you don’t get why this presidency is important and why inspiring hope is necessary. After eight years of insanity the country was basically comatose. Don’t we need something to snap us out of it? Doesn’t that deserve recognition?
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