An Open Letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee
To the Nobel Peace Prize Committee:
It has come to my understanding that you have elected to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the 44th President of the United States, the Honorable Barack H. Obama. At the risk of sounding either slanderous or treacherous (as our great and wise President has all-but-made opposing viewpoints a characteristic of treason against his high crown), I would like to question the means by which President Obama was awarded this particular honor.
The Nobel Prizes for Peace & Science were founded by the last will and testament of Alfred Nobel, declaring that his estate would go to awarding those who give Outstanding contributions in Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Physiology or Medicine, and towards World Peace. Indeed, there have been several laureates which have done amazing things to deserve such a high honor. Among them: Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Jr., and UNICEF, to name a few. However, there have been several individuals whom have done very little to receive this award, and seem to be honored more as a publicity stunt than anything else. Among them: former President Jimmy Carter, former Vice President Al Gore, and President Barack Obama.
To earn this award, one must be nominated by a qualified member of the community – which includes National Government Leaders, Professors, and former Nobel Peace Laureates. Once nominations are made, they are reviewed by their peers, who are specially selected from the community. Once the reviews are complete, the candidates are voted on, with the majority candidate receiving the Nobel Prize.
To begin my argument, in order to be nominated, President Obama would have to be nominated by a qualifying member of the community by February 1 of this year. Considering that, by that date, President Obama would only have had 11 days in office by which to make any qualifying achievement towards world peace, this award is simply unfounded. That being written, one could argue that the President could be judged, once nominated, based upon what he would complete in office between his time of nomination, and the time of awarding. By those standards, the President of the United States would have 8 months by which he would do something to qualify.
In the original will of Alfred Nobel, he states that his prize for Peace shall be awarded “..to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.” If that is the criteria by which the award is to be presented, then allowing President Obama to be a Nobel Laureate is a grave mistake against the spirit and nature of the award. Consider his contributions to mankind in the past year:
- During his campaign, President Obama promised to end American hostilities in the nation of Iraq, and to focus less on war, and more on anti-terrorism campaigns. Since taking office, President Obama has spent an additional $156 Billion USD in the nation, and has outlined plans that would continue to leave American soldiers in the country, in addition to extending his campaign promises.
- President Obama’s current crusade, a nationalized Health Care system, has done more to divide the citizens of the United States than to unite them under one goal. Furthermore, when questions are asked, ambiguous answers are given by both members of the Congress of the United States, as well as the federal administration.
- In his time as President, Barack Obama has interfered with the Laissez-Faire marketplace the United States has had since its inception, and has facilitated the purchase of the largest motor company in America, General Motors, with taxpayer money. The Government of the United States now owns 60% of the company, with no say going to the taxpayer on how to run the new company. The result kills several lines of successful automobiles (including Pontiac and Saturn), and over 100,000 jobs have been completely lost as a result.
- Unemployment in the United States has hit record-breaking highs under the Obama Administration, topping out at 9.8% nationwide in 2009. The last time we have seen national unemployment at these levels were during the recession of 1982, with 10.8% unemployment nationwide. This has been a significant rise since the President took office (at the time of President Obama’s inauguration, unemployment was down to 7.2%).
- The rise in Unemployment figures accounts for over 2 million jobs being lost since President Obama’s inauguration. When championing for his Economic Stimulus Plan, the President estimated his plan would save or create 4 million jobs.
- Despite spending millions of dollars and making a personal visit to the International Olympic Committee meeting, President Obama failed to help Chicago champion themselves as the 2012 host Olympic city. Chicago was voted out in the first round of Olympic voting.
In this spirit, I challenge the Nobel Prize Committee to acknowledge how, in fact, President Barack Obama qualifies for this award. Aside from being the first President of minority in the United States (which is a remarkable feat in itself), President Obama has done absolutely nothing to either 1) foster international peace, or 2) foster peace in the United States. Awarding the President an award of this caliber makes a mockery of the spirit of the award, and devalues it both for those laureates previous, and those that will receive the award in the future. I am incredibly disappointed in the judgement of the committee, and find no merit in this award based on the criteria given.
I would like to congratulate the committee on another controversial decision. This one will have grave effects on the award, and its validity in the international community, for years to come.
Sincerely Yours,
-Joe Cortez
Joe Cortez is a freelance writer and video production professional in Columbus, Ohio. He serves as the Chairman of Technology for the Grandview Area Republican Club. He can be contacted via Twitter @JoeCortez.
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