A couple of days ago, at the breakfast table somebody mentioned that Obama is a candidate for Nobel peace prize, and I remarked, he would probably get it posthumously. And in the evening the news came that he indeed won the prize. This is incredible. Frankly, for me, this is degrading the value of Nobel peace prize.
Obama has surely made a lot of news in the recent past. He is popular, charismatic, and he is a visionary. But does that qualify him to be on par with Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela? What has he DONE to deserve it, apart from well articulated speeches and colorful promises?
I am so surprised that the Nobel committee could not find any other deserving candidates. Does that mean that there are no credible efforts to build peace around the world? Or does it show that the developmental work and the struggles against oppressive regimes in different parts of the third world are no more a concern for the committee? I am so depressed.
I should admit that Obama was humble and gracious in accepting the prize. But I see it as a great burden on him. My concerns are not about Obama, but about moral power of the Nobel prize. I think it should serve as the voice of conscience of a peace loving world, and should reach out to those who really struggle to build peace and reconciliation and democratic values. I think the committee has failed in that.
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