I thought i would welcome myself to the 21st century nearly a decade late by writing my first blog. I want to make it clear that i will more than likely focus on politics with in this realm. I'm an independent myself but welcome all views and ideas. I havent so much as read a political article or dove into this subject matter in nearly 5 years. I spent the majority of my college career involved in school and WV state politics; after taking a lengthy sebatical and realizing whats going on in the world today i felt compelled to start writing down ideas.
Let's get right into it!
Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize (NPP)!
First of all congratulations... If my memory serves me correctly Obama is the 4th US president to win the NPP. Some of my family members who love proof sources will no doubt check for accuracy with this claim. I guess the million dollar question though is why?? I was absolutely not a fan of the previous administration and truly believe they did more harm than good particularly where foreign policy is concerned. So did he win this merely because he is not Bush? Supposedly it was for "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Everytime i see the president he's cutting a ribbon or dribbling a basketball at some inner city youth fundraiser. Not that those events arent important, but it seems like he's on TV more than Letterman! I also found it ironic that the day he won the NPP he met with his war council to consider sending over 40k more troops to Afghanistan. I understand that the current administration sees this as affirmation of their aggressive efforts to reach out across the world. And you certainly have to acknowledge the hard work of trying to turn that dialogue into actual progress on difficult problems like forging Israeli-Palestinian peace. But what about solving our problems here in the US? Like 2 little wars that are currently going on where OUR troops are dying everyday...or perhaps a little thing called unemployment or healthcare tort reform??How about fixing that first before we decide to promote peace with other nations? I think this award puts new pressure on the president from the right and left. Conservatives like Ed Rollins were quick to charge the honor will only highlight the fact that the president has few achievements to point to yet. "I think certainly you have to give him an 'A' for trying," he said. "But at the end of the day, what has he accomplished?" Liberals have attacked the Obama as well saying...ok "Mr. Peacemaker" how about a time table for a withdrawal from these wars that we're in..
The NPP has been bestowed on men and women such as the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, and Pres. Carter. Does Obama really deserve at this stage to be mentioned with these other names?? It's like letting a native american in med school with a 2.5 GPA and a mediocre MCAT from a lousy state school...can he do the work? prolly so but is he as deserving as that 4.0 african american or white student who graduated with honors from Yale? Sorry folks...I'm ecstatic that our President can now put a sentence together and that we're repairing foreign relations but the Nobel Peace Prize...really??
I've always said the presidency is a tough gig that i certainly wouldnt want it. That does not deter the Right or Left from cutting the president any slack, and rightfully so. He is the leader of the free world and certainly a lot is demanded of him.
Feel free to comment...i might be daring enough to attack health care reform from a pharmaceutical sales rep POV next time...that should be fun!
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Whether or not conservatives will care to admit it, President Barack Obama has done more for peace in this world in one year then was done in the previous ten. The speech that he gave in Cairo went a very long way in affirming this fact. Yes, it is surprising that he would be given such an award so early in his presidency, but to say that he has done nothing to deserve this accolade is untrue. For instance, he chose to take a stand against Israel for their continued building of settlements in the West Bank. He reassured the Middle East that the United States does not see them as legitimate. To finally level the table in the Middle East peace process and not constantly bow to the commands of the Israelis is a huge change to what had become the status quo of American politics. You can also look at the fact that Obama has set a timeline for withdrawl from Iraq and has actually sent more troops home at this point than originally expected. Obama is not a war president, remember these wars that he is trying to end were started under the Bush administration. He is also attempting to not only finish the war in Afghanistan but to rally international support so that we do not have to bear all of that burden. One also needs to see that peace includes more than just other countries affairs. Obama is attempting to create a more peaceful society here in America. In a country that is plagued with social and racial inequality, Obama has made a great strides in created a more peaceful social harmony. He has appointed the first Hispanic supreme court justice, an openly gay U.S. ambassador, his secretary of state is a female and his attorney general is a black man. His first piece of legislation signed as president was the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay legislation that removed gender inequality in the work place. He has recently stated that he would end the extremely discriminatory “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy. So I believe he has made great strides not only internationally but domestically to usher both peace and equality into the forthcoming generations.
ReplyDeleteHealthcare tort reform? From a pharm rep? That would be like an attorney arguing against such tort reform! Tread lightly :)
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, while the award may have been prematurely awarded, most of the complaints about what Obama hasn't done have more to do with cleaning up the mess from the previous regime - both wars, unemployment, etc.
What Obama has done is brought the U.S. back into the world's collective mind as the powerhouse and leader it was in the 1990s.
I agree it's a good thing he won. First and foremost, President Obama is an AMERICAN...so I'm happy an American has been bestowed this great honor.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, sorry, but he really did not deserve it. I also agree people shouldn't technnically receive this award for only the "idea" of peace. In that case, I and many others in this country should have earned an award such as this multiple times over lol. President Obama has a wonderful platform to be able to do good and achieve good results for this country...and eventually internationally.
BUT, for the first post who likes to just attack conservatives and think we may just blindly follow our own whether its into the sunset or off a cliff, I must help you get back some sight of your own, and realize that if Mr. Obama were in fact "trying to end the war" and "rally international support" he would be taking a more definite and swift approach...don't you think? He has frequent meetings (supposedly) and continues to delay his decision making. Meanwhile, U.S. troops are losing morale and LIVES every single day. The death toll is RISING, and they have no "HOPE" of what will be their future.
Please stop the Bush bashing...Seriously, it is old and a really crappy argument to make up for this administration's short comings and poor decisions/direction.
We all know when the wars were started, and who started them. We know who started all this bailing out of people and industry. Those points (and others) are noted. I, along with you COFFEEVIOLINS, also disagree with SEVERAL Bush policies-- but you know what...blaming everything on his administration will not change anything but the fact that you can not effectively argue your support of the current president worth a damn.
Thanks and can't wait for the next post :)
Thank you all for your comments! Like i said in my intro I respect all of your views. CV you make many excellent points but seem to be upset that i'm siding with the Right on this. Being an independent thats my perogative! In all honesty personally i tend to be very socially liberal but fiscally conservative. I'll fight for Gay rights all day long as long as i can also fight for my 2nd ammendment rights. Thank you for your comments. I started this blog with the premise to learn and be open-minded enough to listen to all POV's. I welcome the friendly banter between everyone.
ReplyDeleteYes Icon...much research is needed. The only person less qualified than myself to write on healthcare reform would be an upper mgr from an insurance company! Tread softly indeed..And i certainly understand that Obama has had a hell of a job in cleaning up past mistakes; but yet i'm still not convinced it warranted the Nobel Peace Prize. That does not mean that i think what he's done was and is unnessecary. I think he's made wonderful strides in the areas that CV mentioned above and i think your statement was accurate that he has put the US out front once again.
Yes..his speech in Cairo was amazing but yet it was still just a speech. Mother Theresa fed the hungry...Gorbachev ended the cold war...Obama is a great orator and promise maker...different leagues my friends...
and peace love....keep fighting the good fight hun...lol...dont take any shit off of anyone!
I love the conviction in your guys' responses...keep it up..Also if you're going to throw out facts, try to use a source. My quotes from the blog came from www.nobelprize.org
Make sure to give credit where credit is due!
Take Care my friends!
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