Obama Peace Prize Award Dampens Far Right Thunder, Revitalizes Support for Programs, and HOPE!
Oct 10, 2009
In an ideal, perfect world {where's that?}, the Nobel Committee would be nothing but a bunch of starry-eyed idealists, awarding the prize to other starry-eyed idealists. ALWAYS. Well, SOMETIMES it works that way. {I could list a few of these "deserving" recipients if I had the time.}
At other times, the Nobel Prize Committee, just like everyone else on the Planet it seems, is Playing Politics -- and it has been so from the very beginning. Look at the HISTORY of the Nobel Peace Prize! It was awarded to such "warriors" as: Teddy Roosevelt! {Spanish-American War}; Woodrow Wilson! {took the US into WWI}; Yasser Arafat! {sortof a "terrorist", wouldn't you say?}; and - even! HENRY KISSINGER! {one of the WORST of the warmongers.....!}. Yes, it was a matter of "encouraging" certain people and actions by these people and "trends". Not awarded necessarily because these people were "saints and angels". It could even be called, "interfering in the affairs of another country"; and that's NOT NECESSARILY a Bad Thing, when that country has power on a WORLD stage like the US does!
I think this action by the Nobel Peace Prize Committe was a stroke of GENIUS. It seems to me, irrelevant whether the prize was "deserved" in a strict sense, or not! {President Obama was very gracious about saying he felt he "didn't deserve it". Now, he has EVEN MORE TO LIVE UP TO! That's a GOOD thing!!!}
This prize award has CHANGED THE COMPLEXION OF POLITICS IN THE USA. For one thing, THE REPUBLICANS AND THE FAR-RIGHT ARE MAKING TOTAL PUBLIC IRREDEEMABLE FOOLS OF THEMSELVES! That ALONE is worth it! You see, the Repukelicans and the Far Right NEVER DID ACTUALLY HAVE THE PUBLIC SUPPORT THAT THEY CLAIM TO HAVE. The only way they can APPEAR to have any support, is because THE MEDIA GIVES THEM ALL THAT PUBLICITY. While these clowns PRETEND to be leading a "grassroots movement", teabaggers, anti-health-care dupes, etc.; the movement is in actuality, nothing but {I LOVE that phrase!}, an "ASTROTURF" movement!!! {For those to whom English is a second language, "Astroturf" is a kind of ARTIFICIAL grass, used in sports stadiums, etc.} This is PROVED by the fact that POLLS SHOW that all the efforts of the Right-wingers HAVE NOT CHANGED PUBLIC OPINION {on Health Care, for example}, by any significant number of percentage points!!!!! However, the Media by giving undue PUBLICITY to the ranting bigots, and virtually NONE to even huge protests by OUR side; give a completely DISTORTED view.
Well, there is such a thing, apparently hard-wired into most human beings, such a thing as PATRIOTISM. Even birds and animals, LOVE and defend their "home base", their territory, their Homeland! The Repukes have PUT THEMSELVES ON THE WRONG SIDE; by being snide about their favorite hate-object, Obama, getting the award!!! But, all the LATENT PATRIOTISM of MOST folks, as well as the CONTINUING SUPPORT FOR OBAMA that in some instances has been INTIMIDATED and muted into silence, has NOW come to the fore!!!!!
Whether on purpose or not {and I think these Norwegian guys are quite a savvy bunch!}, this comes at a time when the SEEMING power and influence of the Far Right APPEARED to be out-of-control. This giving of the award sure CUTS THEM DOWN TO SIZE!!! Not only do WE, up-to-now ignored by the Media, WE get our VOICES back; but I feel, with all the irresponsible Right-wing rant encouraging actual VIOLENCE, I feel that GIVING THIS AWARD AT THIS TIME MAY HAVE EVEN SAVED OUR PRESIDENT FROM ASSASSINATION. Because THAT's where all this "talk" was headed, make no mistake!
Of course I am very pleased for President Obama, his supporters in the government, his family both in the US and in Kenya, our country and those who had the good sense to vote for Obama {without waiting for the "perfect person" to come along}. This award will INDEED "ENCOURAGE" certain types of good, peace-tending policies; which WAS the original intent of the founder of the Prize, Alfred Nobel. Its net result will ALSO be, perhaps even more importantly, to ENCOURAGE the supporters of President Obama, including even some of the previously dis-illusioned ones, to PUSH EVEN HARDER for the policies for Peace that WE want to see instituted: leaving Iraq and Afghanistan, no drone bombers, dis-mantle American bases, even MORE nuclear disarmament, etc. etc. etc. This has been SOOOOOOO good for our country; and for what we want!
And the Far Right, our deadly enemies, self-destruct EVEN FASTER...... leaving the path for Reform that much clearer.......
Si Se Puedes!Yes We Can! HOPE is back to the foreground......!
Saturday October 10, 2009, 8:01 pm
As you can see from what I wrote above, I do not regard the Nobel Peace Prize as a kind of candy to be awarded on the playground to "good kids" who "behave themselves properly"! It has often been awarded to heads-of-State; and, {with the possible exception of the Dalai Lama}, what head-of-State or ex-head-of-State in this world, does NOT have Blood On His/Her Hands??????
Often it has been awarded to, excuse the expression, "little" people, "ordinary" people who have accomplished extraordinary things. In many or most of those cases, the award was "deserved" according to peace-lovers' assessments of such things.
But, as I said, from the very beginning, Heads of State and former ones, and other govt officials, got the Nobel Peace Prize; and other deserving figures did NOT.
Just like with the decisions of the Olympic Committee, it is pretty plain that Political Considerations loomed large in deciding the awards. The awards were INTENDED by their founder, to ENCOURAGE certain types of activity. {If giving the award to a newborn baby, would actually ENCOURAGE Peace in some way...... then why not?} The outcome may or may not "work" as hoped for.
That is why, to me, discussions of whether President Obama "deserved" the award or not, are really beside-the-point. The award was intended to INFLUENCE President Obama and American politics; and to me it appears as if it has already done so, and will continue for some time to do so, to a stunning degree!!!
It gives the President something TO LIVE UP TO; as someone put it, it just might "keep him honest!" {We can hope.}
It certainly has RE-IGNITED many of his previously-discouraged followers and supporters! Nobody knows or can predict for certain, just WHERE this might lead...... which is in part, up to US! to take advantage of......!
I base my assessment on all the Internet jibber-jabber I usually try to avoid! Before, because of the anonymous nature of the Internet and people's meanness coming out, there was practically nothing but stupid attacks, attacks, attacks, and for all the WRONG reasons!, on the President: bigoted, often Racist, mindless, often incoherent and illiterate, obviously influenced by the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, et al..... And there were very few sensible statements, refutations of the attacks, attempts at FACTUALITY, attempts to correct the mis-information and deliberate DIS-information....That's why I would KICK MYSELF every time I got pulled into reading that kind of garbage! It didn't exactly "make my day"!
NOW, however, it's QUITE A DIFFERENT PICTURE! While the illiterate idjits are still in full cry, this PATRIOTISM I spoke of has come to the fore -- sure, "patriotism" isn't the most "sensible, objective" form of emotion -- but, for whatever it's worth, THAT has been what I have been reading on Internet sites! There is a near-universal feeling of PRIDE IN THE PRESIDENT AND IN THE COUNTRY, for this INTERNATIONAL HONOR!
Okay, it's not "balanced", it's not "objective"; it doesn't take into consideration President Obama's continuing war activities; but still, it can't be denied, I've seen this SURGE OF SUPPORT expressed FOR the President..... and quite drowning out the usual mindless babble of negativity......
To hear the Right-wing MONOPOLY OF THE MEDIA, you'd think the SURGE OF FEELING AND HOPE that elected Obama President, had dissipated or gone hiding under a rock...... but, now it appears NO SUCH THING!
The Far Right and the entire Repukelican party are happily DIGGING THEIR OWN GRAVES and LOSING THE LITTLE SUPPORT they may still have been able to garner. Michael Steel's dumb fund-raising letter, for one thing. There will be absolutely NO-ONE but the hardest of hard-core followers left; and they were always beyond hope anyway.
The main theme, seems to be how UN-PATRIOTIC the Repukes are; and it didn't help their case, that they just the other day, REJOICED when the US lost its bid to host the Olympic Games in Chicago! The Party of "NO"......
There seems to be just this SURGE, this WAVE of POPULAR DISGUST with the Far Right and Republicans, expressing itself.......
Rather FUN to read, for a change......! :-]
According to what I read on the Internet, the Repukelicans are making themselves VERY unpopular right now, by slamming the Obama award. In the popular mind, PATRIOTISM trumps everything; and the Repukes are being seen as UNPATRIOTIC in the extreme; this timed perfectly after the Repukes were rejoicing when Chicago failed in its bid for the Olympics, crowing that it was a "loss for Obama, Ha Ha Ha". People are seeing that as a LOSS FOR THE UNITED STATES; and are RESENTING that the Repukes were glad.
People are not the most logical creatures in the world. Symbol is everything. But the Repukes are VICTIMS OF THEIR OWN PROPAGANDA. People who were willing to cut the Repukes a little slack, are now TURNING AGAINST THEM. According, anyway, to what I've been reading on the Internet.
The Repukes may likely never recover. From the way they reacted to this award; PLUS the way they reacted to Chicago.
Awarding the Nobel Prize, just like the Olympic locations, can be sometimes more, sometimes less, a POLITICAL move. Playing Politics. Think it's merely a matter of disinterested intellectuals in an ivory tower making impersonal decisions? Naaaaah.... Just like when Kissinger, of ALL people, was awarded the prize. If HE can get it, ANYbody is qualified.
This prize was awarded to STRENGTHEN OBAMA'S HAND; both abroad {where it is already strong}; and more importantly, here at home, where he was perceived as losing power to Rightist attacks. And I believe it has served that purpose admirably! It wasn't a little medal for "good behavior". It was a hope for a stronger Presidency and more successes and more momentum behind him, in the future. A big kick-in-the-ass to the Right-wing Hate-mongers, was what it was; and in my opinion, what it was intended to be!
Now President Obama will have something to LIVE UP TO; and less excuse for shilly-shallying in a non-comittal "centrist" position.....
And WE can put the pressure on, TOO.......
While the Right-wing quietly -- or noisily! -- implodes........
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