I should start today's post with a few disclaimers. I am Canadian and hence I have no personal bones to pick with regards to American domestic politics. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican in my political leanings, as I take positions on issues rather than blindly affiliating with the red or blue team. Rest assured to all Obama lovers, there are many things that I detested about Bush, none more so than his anti-science, anti-evolution, pro-religion bent. Furthermore, Obama did mention non-believers in his inauguration speech, so as an evolutionist and atheist I was pleased with his courage.
With that in mind, I hope that you'll read my opinion piece with some open-mindedness and accordingly will refrain from posting insulting comments. Recall that I am an Arab-Jew, and hence as a semite, I am technically speaking a man of "color." As such, I will accuse you of either being a xenophobe, an anti-semite, and/or a racist should you post nasty and rude comments. ☺ Such are the games played by those who subscribe to identity politics. See my earlier post on this topic here.
Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize nine-month into his presidential term. In accepting his award, he admitted that he had achieved nothing but that he considered this a "call for action." Incidentally, for those of you who are unaware, the nominations had to be posted by February 1, 2009 namely less than ten days after he had been inaugurated. Wow! Apparently, he won the Prize for his dignified tone, his hopeful messages, and his future promise. Nice!
Let me ask you a question. Suppose that we were to identify an extraordinarily brilliant young economist, physicist, or chemist who was nine-month into his/her assistant professorship, and who had otherwise not published a single paper in his/her short academic career. Could we be logically justified in granting him/her the Nobel Prize in one of the latter fields? What if we were to identify a promising novelist who had yet to write a single novel; could we award him/her the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Here is another question for you to ponder: What if I had an extraordinarily bright student in my class who did not submit a single assignment, did not write a single exam, did not participate in any evaluative exercises. However, I was aware that this student was brilliant, and that he displayed great hope and promise. I knew for a fact that he scored in the top 0.01% in IQ. Could I grant him an A on promise? On hope? On charisma? If I did, the administration (and the other students) would have reason to file a grievance against me. Hence, you will probably agree that a student who has done nothing in a class could not conceivably receive an A in the course. Yet a politician could win the Nobel Prize for doing nothing.
If we are going to have a Messianic love affair with Obama then I suggest that we grant him all of the Nobel Prizes:
(1) The Nobel Prize in Literature for his having written two books about himself.
(2) The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for proving that middle-aged men can look gorgeous in a bathing suit. Surely, you must have seen his stunning abs in that infamous vacation photo no?
(3) The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for having organized the Beer Summit earlier this summer. In so doing, he has reaffirmed the importance of the biochemical reactions inherent to alcohol, these serving as social lubricants (i.e., people are less uptight when slightly drunk).
(4) The Nobel Prize in Physics for having hired Steven Chu, a Nobel laureate in Physics, to be Secretary of Energy.
(5) The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for having passed the stimulus package.
Here is an idea: Next year, I would like to nominate Arab-speaking Jews or Israeli Arabs for the Nobel Peace Prize for being able to exist within their "fractured" selves. In so doing we have done a lot more for peace in the Middle East than has Obama.
One final thought experiment: Let us suppose that we could recreate every single speech, interview, and/or public appearance that Obama has given/made. Now through the magic of science fiction, let us assume that we could replace the tall, dashing, and regal Obama with the short, nerdy, and buffoonish Ross Perot. Do you think that Perot would have been granted the Nobel Peace Prize? As a consumer scholar, I am only too aware of the importance of packaging. Take the exact same product, put it in two different packages (cheap or fancy), and ask people to evaluate it. They arrive at completely different evaluations!
Bottom line: There are countless individuals who dedicate their lives to fighting hunger, rescuing child soldiers, freeing women from sexual slavery, hunting down genocidal dictators, and endless other acts of extraordinary selflessness. Think of Nelson Mandela and the number of years he spent in horrific conditions in prison. He brought down the apartheid system. This award to Obama is an insult to the true heroes (of all political bents) who put their lives on the line everyday in the pursuit of justice, liberty, and equality around the world.
Update (October 11):
My former doctoral student Tripat Gill just wrote me to let me know of a post put up by a Harvard economist (Greg Mankiw) on this issue. I am attaching Dr. Mankiw's post herewith:
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2009/10/first-year-grad-student-wi...
Source for Image:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/09/nobel.peace.prize/inde...
