Congratulations Mr. President!

After watching all the brouhaha about President Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and sitting here shaking my head again at the divisiveness in our country by the vocal minority, I decided I must weigh in with an entry (I usually leave the political entries to Beth, she is a tad more vocal on this than I am LMAO :o). So here I present a bit of background, and my opinion.

When Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1896, it was discovered that he had left a will, dated November 27, 1895, according to which most of his vast wealth was to be used for five prizes, including one for peace.

The prize for peace was to be awarded to the person who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding of peace congresses." The prize was to be awarded "by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting."


To read more of the history of the Nobel Peace Prize, link provided courtesy of Sheria :o), who in her entry reminds us that President Obama has been talking of his philosophy of peace and dialogue for more than three years now, starting with his campaign. It was Sheria's entry that inspired me to make this entry, so thank you friend.


At the bottom of the history link, is a summary. I think this statement helps sum it up: "Different kinds of statesmen were awarded the Peace Prize, some for addressing global concerns, others for helping to solve regional crises, still others for the general principles they espoused. The human rights category was added to the list and gradually became perhaps the most numerous one."


An another quote: "...the Norwegian Nobel Committee has increasingly come to use the Peace Prize not only as a reward for achievements accomplished, but also as an incentive for the Laureates to achieve even more. This may be said to reflect the growing courage of the committee members or, perhaps more accurately, the increasing stature of the Nobel Peace Prize."

Peace has never been defined by the Nobel Committee, which I think is fitting as it means different things at different times. Regardless of how the minority in our country feel about President Obama, the world has hope that he can be true to his words and help bring about change. It is that hope, and President Obama's consistent rhetoric and demeanor, that in my opinion, has made him a worthy recipient of this noble honor.