The Nobel Peace Prize
Oct. 11th, 2009 10:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphiloHere's a list of the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize
I've got to admit I draw a blank on most of these names.
A lot of them were diplomats who were simply doing their jobs.
There are one or two real jokers in the pack. Teddy Roosevelt- who loved nothing better than charging up hills with a revolver in his fist- got the prize for brokering a deal between Russia and Japan. Henry Kissinger got it for agreeing to end a war he'd previously been pursuing with vigour.
And then there's Yasser Arafat. His citation was probably not the only one which- with hindsight- seems slightly premature.
Several of the recipients had nothing to do with promoting world peace but got it simply for being good eggs and an example to us all- among them Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama.
On several occasions the award has gone to organisations- like the Red Cross or Medecins Sans Frontiers- and quite often it hasn't been awarded at all.
It's a barmy prize with a barmy history. The award to Barack Obama is hardly out of keeping.
I've got to admit I draw a blank on most of these names.
A lot of them were diplomats who were simply doing their jobs.
There are one or two real jokers in the pack. Teddy Roosevelt- who loved nothing better than charging up hills with a revolver in his fist- got the prize for brokering a deal between Russia and Japan. Henry Kissinger got it for agreeing to end a war he'd previously been pursuing with vigour.
And then there's Yasser Arafat. His citation was probably not the only one which- with hindsight- seems slightly premature.
Several of the recipients had nothing to do with promoting world peace but got it simply for being good eggs and an example to us all- among them Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama.
On several occasions the award has gone to organisations- like the Red Cross or Medecins Sans Frontiers- and quite often it hasn't been awarded at all.
It's a barmy prize with a barmy history. The award to Barack Obama is hardly out of keeping.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-10-12 11:14 am (UTC)On the other hand, Obama did stand up and stand against one of the darkest, ugliest periods in American history, a time when the US was widely seen as the greatest single threat to world peace and stability. Obama's leadership in the fight against American fascism must count for something and I think the prize is meant to encourage that effort, even if there isn't much real peace so far as a result.