U.S. President Barack Obama. (AP photo by Richard Drew)
In what some are describing as a stunning choice, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo, Norway, awarded its 2009 Prize to U.S. President Barack H. Obama on October 9.
Obama is the third sitting U.S. president, behind Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919 to win the award. He is the fourth president overall after Jimmy Carter won it in 2002. Former vice president Al Gore won it in 2007. Obama also became the third African American to win the award after U.N. diplomat Ralph Johnson Bunche in 1950 and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1964.
Critics in both the United States and the Arab world have voiced opinions on whether or not the president “deserved” the award in light of the fact that he has held the U.S. presidency for less than a year and has yet to “score a major diplomatic victory.” However, a review of past winners of the Nobel Prize for Peace makes it clear that neither political office nor diplomatic “victories” are necessarily the primary criteria for winning the illustrious prize.
According to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, Obama received it in recognition of “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” The Peace Prize Question posted on Nobel.org asks simply, “Did you know about Barack Obama’s efforts for a nuclear weapon free world?”
Shared Common Commitment
Nobel Peace Prize winners in the past ––including Elie Wiesel in 1986 and Mother Teresa in 1979–– mostly seem to share in common a commitment to public actions empowered by individual ideals geared towards enhancing the quality of life for human beings overall. Obama’s commitment to such actions and ideals became evident enough long before he assumed the office of the U.S. presidency and chose to labor in the grass-roots fields of community organization. They echoed repeatedly through the message of “the audacity of hope” that eventually propelled him into the Oval Office.
Moreover, they were further amplified in the president’s historic “Speech to the Muslim World” on June 4, 2009, when he noted the following:
“… I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations -- to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.”
Content or Color
The negative aspects of the “mixed responses” to the Nobel Peace Prize announcement in many ways simply extend the string of such criticisms that have been leveled against Obama and his administration throughout the summer of 2009. Debates over health care reform have repeatedly erupted into violent demonstrations at town hall meetings with public outbursts of unbridled contempt. Whether the level of public expressions of dissention are due to disagreements with the content of proposed policies or the color of the president’s skin remains an ongoing conversation in many communities.
In regard to the Nobel Peace Prize, Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele called the award “unfortunate” and said the president’s celebrity status, “has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights."
The President and the Prize
President Obama himself expressed humility over the fact that he had been included in the company of so many exceptional individuals before him. Nevertheless, during a White House Rose Garden press conference, he accepted the honor on behalf of his administration and the United States. He also used the occasion to reaffirm his commitment to meeting the economic and political challenges currently facing America.
Former Nobel Peace Prize recipient
Martin Luther King, Jr. (press photo release)
About the prize itself and previous recipients, President Obama stated: “I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women, and all Americans, want to build — a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents. And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action — a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.”
by Aberjhani, the African American Art Examiner and author/co-author of eight books including Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance and The American Poet Who Went Home Again.
- More on Nobel Prizes and Laureates:
- Two Literary Laureates Celebrated Herta Muller and Amiri Baraka
- Two Literary Laureates Celebrated Part 2
- Maya Angelou Long Listed for Nobel Prize for Literature
- List of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
- Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies
- Nobel Prize Founder Albert Nobel
Comments
Since when do we give out awards for someone's views before that person has delivered the goods..I believe the people handing out these awards are using it to gain political leverage...Shame on you...I find no nobility in that at all...!!! What are the qualifications for winning the nobel peace prize anyway...???
OBAMA is a great Leader - NO doubt about that !
Sadly, the NOBEL COMM. have been short sighted here - there are far more worthy candidates, who to date, have done MORE for peace than OBAMA.
So I guess next year if I start suggesting that the world should get rid of their nukes but doing nothing but sitting on my hands, I'll get one too? If you can win this prize for idly preaching idealisms and fanning the flames of the media's hype for *cough* global warming *cough*, then I guess this prize isn't really as prestigious as it used to be.
Complete garbage. It's just because he's the first black US president...that no one likes. Approval ratings just as low as his predecessor.
Obama's claim as a United States citizen is going to be tried by the Supreme Court for Pete's sake!! Why are we handing out one of the most prestigious awards in the world to a guy who's under fire for what would be the biggest scandal in history??!!
Thanks Sam, Kurt, Basil, and Ken. Obama himself actually expressed agreement with some of these remarks. Whether people agree or don’t agree that he “deserves” the Nobel Peace Prize, the fact is that he did win it and has been gracious enough to accept it in the name of his country with a pledge to donate the $1.4 million prize to charities. If he remains true to his general pattern of employing spotlight occasions to create “teachable” moments, he will likely take advantage of the award ceremonies to address the world community regarding the various urgent issues of our times.
It’s possible that Nobel Peace Prize Committee wants him to have that opportunity not because it’s politically savvy, but because it’s globally crucial. Until the citizens of this world start making it a point to actually hear each other as opposed to barely listening to and then dismissing each other, nothing is likely to change for the better and virtually everything is likely to get worse.
Aberjhani
JUST IN FROM NOBEL PRIZE COMMITTEE:
"We simply disagree that he has done nothing," committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland told the AP on Tuesday. "He got the prize for what he has done."
Jagland singled out Obama's efforts to heal the divide between the West and the Muslim world and scale down a Bush-era proposal for an anti-missile shield in Europe.
"All these things have contributed to — I wouldn't say a safer world — but a world with less tension," Jagland said by phone from the French city of Strasbourg, where he was attending meetings in his other role as secretary-general of the Council of Europe.
He said most world leaders were positive about the award and that most of the criticism was coming from the media and from Obama's political rivals.
"I take note of it. My response is only the judgment of the committee, which was unanimous," he said, adding that the award to Obama followed the guidelines set forth by Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dy
Here is a post that may interest some of your more open-minded readers.
bigsole.blogspot.com/2009/10/little-clarity-on-obamas-nobel-win.html
N.
Thanks for sharing that Nordette. I especially appreciate the reference to Mikhail Gorbachev's letter of congratulations in which he states the following:
“The decision of the Nobel Committee is a recognition of the significant role the United States of America plays in world affairs and of the hopes people are placing in the United States President. Therefore your success, Mr. President, is in the interest of all those who want to see a secure and just peace in the XXI century.”
That to me seems to sum up what it's really all about.
Aberjhani
Ciao Aberjhani,
Obama ha meritato il Nobel.Lo trovo un Uomo equilibrato,un Uomo che sta cercando di mediare anche con i Paesi un pò "difficili".Quando era candidato a Presidente,io ho tifato tantissimo per lui,speravo che vincesse.Il popolo Americano eleggendolo ha dimostrato tanta Intelligenza e soprattutto voglia di cambiare.La sua Elezione mi ha commossa tantissimo,ha una bella famiglia,serena e equilibrata.E' importante per dare sicurezza al popolo.Il buon esempio.Sono sicura che farà tanto e bene per l'America,bisogna solo lasciarlo lavorare in pace . Yes we Can :)))
Ciao e a presto
Grazie, Caterina, per la compartecipazione dei vostri pensieri su Barack Obama ed il premio di pace Nobel. Ho pensato che molto interessante quando il comitato premiato ha detto esso non prendesse nella politica americana di considerazione quando ha preso la decisione unanime per presentare il presidente Obama con il premio. Stavano osservando solamente i suoi sforzi per rinforzare la comunicazione e un senso della cooperazione su una scala globale, che non è un piccolo obiettivo da realizzare. È molto sconosciuta quando il resto del mondo può apprezzare quegli sforzi mentre la sua patria sembra incontrare così tanto difficoltà agire in tal modo.
Aberjhani
HERE IS THE ENGLISH VERSION OF MY ATTEMPT AT ITALIAN IN THE PREVIOUS RESPONSE:
Thank you, Caterina, for sharing your thoughts on Barack Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize. I thought it very interesting when the Prize Committee said it did not take into consideration American politics when it made the unanimous decision to present President Obama with the prize. They were looking solely at his efforts to strengthen communication and a sense of cooperation on a global scale, which is not a small goal to achieve. It is very strange when the rest of the world can appreciate those efforts while one’s homeland seems to have so much difficulty doing so.
Aberjhani
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