Barack Obama's recently award Nobel Peace Prize has accumulated a multitude of lively debate. Most Americans, liberal or conservative, moderate or apathetic, seem very confused with the unpredictable announcement. Accordingly, most of us have been asking, what has our president done to earn this universally prestigious title?
Well nothing really, quite frankly.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not here to galvanize fears of Communist health care or homosexual terrorists; talk to Dick Morris or Dick Cheney (or any other dicks) if you want to hear why conservative agenda is more than necessary at this time (despite its fundamental inability to promote equality).
No, the real reason Barack Obama has not earned this award stems from the very fact that he is president of the United States, one of the most aggressive, powerful, and culturally imperialistic economic machines governing "democratic capitalism" across the globe.
Obama has indeed utilized diplomatic whiteout to take care of the last administration's undoubtedly tainted actions and explicit failures in foreign policy. But cleaning up after Bush - one of the most deservedly least popular presidents in modern American history - is not representative of praiseworthy conduct.
Yes, Obama's speech in Cairo to the Muslim world, condemnation of Israel's West Bank settlements, and attempt to close torture camps for terrorists are commendable in one way or another.
But Obama has yet to fully close Guantanamo Bay. He has decided preconditions to Israeli-Palestinian talks are unnecessary and supports a "don't ask don't tell policy" regarding Israel's nuclear weapons (while he continues to ardently criticize Iran's peaceful and unfairly ridiculed attempts at low-uranium enrichment and manages to questionably promise the LGBTQIA community that he will abolish our own DADT). He continues to struggle with the formation of an Afghanistan strategy, probably without the obvious fact that Afghanistan will never be able to develop it its own organic cultural context with the unwelcoming invasion of U.S. troops.
Also, he lost Chicago for the 2016 Olympics. I don't know why that's a criticism but Rush Limbaugh told me it was.
The point is, Obama continues to do what American presidents do best - promote inequalities and ethnocentric policies by assuming global responsibility for everything the mainstream media decides to cover. Obama needs to think back to his real ideological roots (roots of which I believe I have some knowledge after reading his autobiography) in order to achieve the peaceful endeavors this award symbolizes.
Obama should know Israel's military, not just Hamas, needs to be politically admonished. Obama should know Afghanistan is not for our concern and that a public acknowledgement of past wrongdoings in concert with troop removal would probably diminish violence more than any insurgency. Obama should know that peace never arrives with assumptions, arms, ammo, and American hubris.
Obama should not have this award.
However, if he uses it as personal and political call to action, like he noted in his speech, we will hopefully see some sort of improvement.
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