Martin posted on October 14, 2009
Last Friday was a special day for the United States of America, a day that will go down in U.S. history books, and be talked about for years to come. President Barack Obama became the third U.S. president in history to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
While many individuals were happy with the decision to give Obama the Nobel Peace Prize, a good number of others questioned the decision made by the Nobel peace prize committee. For example, a large portion of European citizens are still scratching their heads in confusion.
In London England many were stopped and asked about what they thought of Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, almost every response given was one of disbelief. In Spain, El Pais, the countries largest newspaper, posted a cartoon add by one the papers leading artists who featured a picture of a black peace dove holding an olive branch (the image commonly features a white peace dove). Polls given by Spanish news sites, have reported that thousands of people believe that Obama does not deserve to be named the winner of the peace prize, at least not yet.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it gave the prize to Obama for his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy, his vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons and for inspiring hope and creating a new climate in international politics.
Although Obama has taken steps to improve international grey areas, people say that they have not yet seen any major turn-around from those steps. Usually, the Nobel peace prize committee gives the Nobel Peace Prize as a reward for results not just for a vision.
- Martin O’Donnell