by Ethan NichternAll day yesterday, many of us, myself included, were saying to ourselves, they gave Obama the Nobel Peace Prize, For What? On the day that our President was awarded arguably the most hopeful award that exists on planet Earth, I got to watch another Nobel Peace Prize nominee speak, one who truly deserved to win. Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh spoke to a crowd of almost 3000 at the Beacon Theater in New York about suffering, mindfulness, and how to work for inner peace. Thich Nhat Hanh - Thay, as he is known to students and friends - was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1967 by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his peace activism during the Vietnam War.
It was certainly an odd juxtaposition - watching a truly deserving (losing) nominee speak and teach Buddhism on the day that a questionably deserving (yet still highly promising) winner took the prize. Then I got home and watched Rachel Maddow (as she often does), break the whole thing down. This blogger and (hopeful) practitioner and attempted-teacher of peace is very happy our president won the prize. I hope he returns to the promise of his campaign on issues like Healthcare for everyone, economic fairness, and saving the planet from environmental destruction. Take it away, Rachel.
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Why not flood Obama with a mass of congratulations, urging him to turn hope into world changing action in the coming months . . .
on nuclear disarmament,
peace instead of war in Afghanistan and Iraq,
and a fair and lasting peace deal in the Middle East.
By going to avaaz.org you can send your congratulations direct to the White House.
with metta . . . eirenety.
This was clearly an political statement by the Nobel committee.
As was their decision in 2007 to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore.
I certainly believe that global warming is an imminent threat to human survival. And if awarding Al Gore the Nobel Peace Prize helped to bring attention to that, I don't know that it is the worst thing in the world to do.
In addition to everything else, America was the embodiment of the brutal murder and oppression of African-Americans for hundreds of years. So, awarding a Nobel Peace Prize to the first African-American president, one who has already made powerful overtures of peace to the Arab world, and to North Korea and on....again, I don't think it is the worst thing in the world.
But of course it is a political statement by the Nobel Committee and not an award of merit.
Does it cheapen the Nobel Peace Prize? Yes, of course, it does. But this is hardly the first time that award has been given to a controversial figure.
If folks recall, Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I don't think folks can really say that his award was not as a result of political lobbying by those with conservative politics.
In the case of Kissinger, some folks think he helped facilitate the deaths of millions in Southeast Asia and to award him the Nobel Peace Prize was the ultimate mockery of the award. Yes, he and President Nixon did help bring the Vietnam era to a close and he did help start arms reduction talks with the Soviet Union, and I do think he did want to try and help create world peace.
So, again, this is hardly the first time a controversial figure has been awarded the prize.
And I fully agree, true men of peace, like Thich Nhat Hahn are the real peacemakers and the real ones who deserve the aware. Thich Nhat Hahn was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (by no less than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
I think folks will find that most contests in which prizes are awarded are heavily influenced by political factors outside of merit. Whether that is the Academy Awards, the Emmys, political appointees and on and on and on.
I think that a contest which truly awards on merit alone is the rare exception to the rule. Do I think it should be the norm? Of course. But let us not get skewed here in thinking that this award, is much different than just about every award that exists. Go look at the list of Academy Award winning actors...and then go watch a British production of Shakespeare by a leading company. In those companies, the extras with one line have more talent than many of our Oscar winners.
Human desire, unchecked, moving into greed, still rules the material world and the decisions made in the world. And people who act on the basis of truth - whether that is Confucius, Socrates, Gandhi, Lincoln or Dr. King...are so rare that they are honored as the great people of history.
And how come people just can't stop for a second and be proud...that, hey, the President of the United States just won the Nobel Prize. Why can't it exist in that realm, even if for just a moment? The political divide has gotten so extremely vicious, it seems that all anyone can see is red.
And that, helps no one and helps destroy just about everything.
gassho
JOHN DOE said: "I don't know were the other candidates, but surely there is someone in the world that is more deserving then this young, nieve, ignorant little..."
I for one find this comment distressing and unfortunate. I have never commented here before but after reading that I felt compelled to respond. I didn't copy & paste the entire offensive comment because I don't want to perpetuate it. To me, John Doe's language smacks of borderline hate speech particularly when he slurs our President and disrespects him by calling him out of his name. By all means, express your opinion, (free speech, etc) but I think it is unnecessary to stoop to such levels in order to do so. You may not realize it but you sound jealous and bitter. I wonder how you look at ordinary black folks if our President (who is very accomplished) brings about such vitriolic hatred in you. I also hope that the comment is removed.
@JOHN DOE: "Wait till Iran continues to ignore these sanctions that are on them, continues to develop nuclear weapons, and see where that leads. Open a history book, when Germany invaded Poland, the world stood by and did nothing. Sounds pretty familiar."
President Obama did not create the situation in Iran, but he is addressing it. Maybe not to your liking but to say he is not doing anything is inaccurate. Your projection of anger at him for the current situation is misplaced. And if I recall correctly, in my history book (I don't know which one you're reading), England declared war on Germany when Poland was invaded. That wasn't exactly the world standing by and doing nothing.
and speaking of history...
@Alex: "The argument that Obama deserves it simply for being the first African-American president just doesn't hold weight..."
As far as I'm concerned it DOES hold weight (note: this is not what Maddow argued). Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the history of this country would know that electing an African American President (since that is how he defines himself, I do too)in the U.S. was UNIMAGINABLE, even three years ago when Pres. Obama began his campaign. People who try to diminish, minimize and otherwise discount that fact and the amazing shift in consciousness required to bring it about, are hiding their heads in the sand. RACE DOES MATTER.
I also believe that people outside of the US can see clearly the significance of Pres. Obama's role on the world and domestic stage more easily than those in the US because we are blinded by the centuries of racism and oppression that this country was built upon. Dismantling it, the racism & oppression that is, continues to be no mean feat. If everything he does makes you angry, if his very existence makes you angry, then fine, stay angry. But I take it as a sign of the last bitter death throes of an old consciousness.
On a last note, I recommend the short story "Everything that Rises Must Converge", by Flannery O'Conner. Not a Buddhist text, no, but enlightening nonetheless.
http://www.geocities.com/cyber_explorer99/oconnorconverge.html
namaste.
I love obama, feeling compassion and kindness to him i also had to ask "for What?". If you can explain it to me i am all ears and have a mind to welcome a reasonable explaination.
It is a high honor to him to be awarded this nobel peace prize. So, maybe i don't want to judge the why of it and be simply happy for him which i am it is just that perhaps there are other candidates, i am interested in how he was selected, what were the thoughts of the award panel. namaste'
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