Posted by
"Mind and Morals" Michael Coyne on Friday, October 09, 2009 1:23:00 PM
I’d
like to congratulate our president for his winning of the Nobel Peace Prize,
and for his astounding and earth-shattering achievements in the field of world
peace.
In
that same spirit, I will now accept your praises and gifts for my outstanding
achievements in the field of shaping the global political debate.
Not
buying it? Good. We’re getting somewhere.
All
that the president has really done is talk. A lot. And while talking is
wonderful, it does not amount to achievement. I operate a blog—which,
by the way, may have recently earned a second or third regular reader—and
write for a college newspaper. I also rant to anyone who will listen. I’ve
influenced a few minds, I’m sure. But if someone were to tell me that I’ve won
an award for my work, I’d respond with the sentence, “Put the damn bong down,
you pinhead!”
President
Obama has been in office for nine months. He has talked about closing Gitmo,
but keeps pushing the deadline back. He talked about pulling us out of Iraq,
but troops won’t be off the ground until at least 2012. He nixed the missile
defense shield in Europe, but that was only in the planning stages anyway. No
actual action was required. So I must ask, when did great oratory and lofty
goals amount to actual accomplishment?
What
has the president done in the international stage? He has snubbed our allies
and cozied up to our enemies, such as Hugo Chavez. All this tells me is that
the president is very confused. It does not tell me that he has made strides or
steps or even stumbles toward a greater, lasting peace in the world.
Perhaps,
had he accomplished something, the president might have earned the Nobel Peace
Prize a couple of years into his term, but not nine months into his term.
I
am not saying that the president will never deserve recognition, but I am
saying that he doesn’t deserve it yet. Let’s wait until something of substance
actually gets done, then, we’ll talk. But for now, I think that the Nobel Peace
Prize has just reached a point of negative value.