Obama and Nobel Prize

I actually hate politics. I don't like having to have an opinion, and I don't like to voice it when I do. But this is not necessarily a political discussion.  It's no secret that I disagree with President Obama on many, many issues for concrete reasons.  However, my issue today is less with him and more with the Nobel Committee itself.  My arguments will be brief, because their own words act as the best argument against themselves.

The following quotations are from this yahoo news article.

"Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said their choice could be seen as an early vote of confidence in Obama intended to build global support for his policies."

So basically, a prestigious award intended to honor those people who have accomplished great things in promoting and creating peace in the world has had its very purpose diminished in the name of encouraging the world to support someone's policies. They are using the clout of the award as a means to making a political statement. This sounds to me like manipulation.

"This is probably an encouragement for him to act. Let's see if he perseveres. Let's give him time to act," Walesa said.

The committee is banking on the possibility of Obama being successful.  They are using the award not to honor him for the work he has done, but to encourage him to do work. It doesn't even seem to matter if he does ever accomplish anything.  We should just wait and see what happens. 

"In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself," ElBaradei said. "He has shown an unshakable commitment to diplomacy, mutual respect and dialogue as the best means of resolving conflicts."

Diplomacy, mutual respect, and dialogue.  These are the main goals to which Obama has committed himself.  All I'm going to say is that in those goals I hear moral relativism.  I hear no attempt at finding the Truth and defending it. Once again, the pursuit of common ground has taken precedence over the pursuit of absolute truth.

One final point.  The place in this world that should be the most comforting, the safest, and the most peaceful is the mother's womb. The world's most vulnerable members have no protection, no peace. And Obama doesn't care.