America wins Peace Prize

November 16, 2009  
Filed under An Eagle's View

It is a pretty well known fact Chapin is an overwhelmingly conservative community. I’m definitely not complaining. In fact, it’s nice to be able to see what the argument is on the other side of the spectrum and to talk to people whose views differ from mine. We are even able to have mostly civil debates about the issues.

Therefore, there was little surprise at the number of students in an uproar because President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Was I surprised when President Obama won the award? Yes, almost as much as he was.

Did he deserve the award? Absolutely.

It isn’t just Barack Obama that won this prestigious award. This was symbolic of the global community standing back and saying, “Thanks, America.”

We have to admit that America went a little bit crazy after 9/11. The anger and outright rage was understood. Eventually, anger edged towards insanity. It served as a jumping point that corrupted foreign policy, engaged us in an unnecessary conflict, and diminished the U.S. in the eyes of much of the world.

All of a sudden, the new administration steps in, led by a man willing to extend an olive branch, not just charge in with guns blazing.

He wants to talk.

America is reentering the global community with dignity and openly admitting to the mistakes that have been made. Not only are we admitting mistakes (leaders do that all the time), now we have a man who is willing to say, “Yes, we screwed up… and we’re sorry.”

When is the last time you remember a global figure step up and actually apologize for the actions of their leaders?

With the war in Iraq straying dangerously close to Vietnam-like disapproval, the Obama administration is stepping back and withdrawing in a responsible, careful way. At the same time, we continue to fight terrorism in Afghanistan, but without the hysteria that has been so frequent in the last few years.

The new administration also stepped in and realized just how loosely the previous one had looked at the rules and decided to change that. Is Guantanamo closed yet? No. But it’s getting there, and I would be willing to bet that there isn’t any waterboarding going on behind secret doors.

America is willing to talk to the world again. For the first time in a long time, our country is extending an open invitation to have negotiations with countries we may not be on the best of terms with instead of threatening them with our military might.

As the president, Obama represents America and all of these great changes that are taking place. Maybe the Nobel Peace Prize was specifically dedicated to him, but it may have been meant for the nation as a whole.

(Oh, and the fact Obama is the product of a biracial relationship who rose from poverty, attended Harvard Law School, and eventually became leader of the free world- that probably didn’t hurt either.)

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