The No Bell Pizza Prize

Maybe I'm having a "don't you talk about my momma/Obama!" moment, but now I'm just getting angry.  Because while I'm upset over the lack of "change" going on right now, I can't take it anymore.  And since I just wrote about this particular subject to friends, I thought I would share it here.

Okay, I'm doing it: 

First of all--in response to criticisms that he received the prize just because he's "not George Bush"-- that's stupid.  No one on the list of peace prize laureates is like George Bush.

Moving on.  Why the uproar?  Has everyone who has received the prize in the past achieved great things by the time they were nominated, even by the time they received the prize?  More recently, Al Gore received the peace prize in 2007 (w/ the UN panel) for his work on climate change awareness.  Yet two years later, we have yet to see any comprehensive energy reform in the US, much less in the entire world.  Hell, we haven't even convinced everyone climate change exists.  I don't remember an uproar there-- "But, why Gore? He doesn't deserve it! It's all talk!  He hasn't done anything yet!" 

How about in 1964, when Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the peace prize.  By the time of his nomination, the civil rights movement had not yet won the Civil Rights Act, or the Voting Rights Act.  Furthermore, did he deserve the prize over the people in Alabama or Mississippi or North Carolina who spearheaded the movement rather than figureheaded it?  Let's not forget the efforts of Abernathy, or Robinson (to name a couple).  --"But, Dr. King? He just gave a nice speech in Washington.  He hasn't really done anything yet!  In fact, it's been years and no laws have been passed!"

I don't mean to downplay the achievements of these men or anyone else who has received the prize in the past.  But to pretend that this is the first time the award has been given to someone who has not yet achieved the successes for which they aim would be an ill-informed criticism.  And it's not like he nominated or chose himself-- he was just as shocked as anyone else, and said himself that he didn't deserve to be among the other winners. 
(What he said: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7bHkH779qg)

I am just as impatient as everyone else.  But when Obama says that this prize is a "call to action," I get happy.  Period.  Because, I'm sorry, he got elected.  No, no--rather, we elected him.  Let's not forget that, it's not a passive sentence, we performed the action.  And now what?  We are just sitting here, waiting to be transformed as a nation.  He told us to hold him accountable.  How many of us, how many of the people who elected him, are doing that?  Are we putting pressure on him to pass health care reform?  To pass immigration reform?  To pass energy reform?  No, but the minority of the nation is pressuring Congress not to, or at least not to pass it in the ways Obama said we'd see it. 

On that note-- have we forgotten that Obama doesn't make the laws? He doesn't write them.  He doesn't pass them.  If we want to see these things happen, and are angry that they haven't happened as quickly as we see fit, we are placing blame in the wrong place.  Maybe we should look at our Congressmen and Congress women.  Or, to get to the root of the problem, maybe we should look at ourselves.  Whose country is this, anyway?

But whatever.  It's easier to email/gchat/tweet/facebook message our friends about how he hasn't done anything yet. 

There.  There's some perspective for ya.

/rant. 

Obama-nation day!

Barackin' the White House since 12:01 pm. Hell yes. They have a blog, too, which is awesome.

I loved the speech. I loved that it was honest and humble and gracious. My favorite:

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

He also mentioned wind and solar power, hooray! It feels like New Year's all over again. God, I really want to be a speech writer. Anywho, off to work. More thoughts tonight.