Nobel Peace Prize

What a morning wake up - call from my neighbor.  I could not believe what she said - and, in fact, I thought she was kidding.  Nope.  The Peace Prize has been awarded to our current president.  I understand that he was a surprised as I was.

No coffee for me this morning.  I pondered what the committee granted the prize for - just what accomplishment was in accord with the requirement of the prize? 

Research into the Nobel Peace Prize revealed the following:

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As described in Nobel's will, one part was dedicated to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."  [The Washington Post - Friday, October 9, 2009 6:50 AM]

So I attempted to recap our new President's accomplishments that meet this requirement.  All I can come up with (other than his bow to the King of Saudi Arabia) is his sweep around the world to apologize for our country.  I have mixed emotions:  on the positive side it is great that this country's leader is honored in this way, but on the negative side it seems that the committee has lost its bearing in the purpose of the prized (I guess we should have seen this coming with the award going to Al Gore for making a movie that is inconsistent with the scientific understanding to date).

For once, I think that Saturday Night Live expresses the current level of understanding that many in the US have at this point in time.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mMR9Ztva58  We clearly are missing the "bigger picture" and the other 104 nominees just could not compete with the "potential" of our president.

Enough said.

"I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend could have invented the Nobel Prize." - George Bernad Shaw