Tuesday 9 February 2010

A NOBEL IDEA?

“The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

Ok so… there has been a lot of talk about Mr President and the fact that he has received the 2009 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. This debate is quite a difficult one but not for the usual reasons. Its not as a result of the delicacy of the arguments on both sides but because of the crash, bang, whollop that has been Barack Obama’s political career since he ran for office in 2008. Barack is by no means big or brash but peoples reaction to him is. Both during his campaign and his short time in office people have fortunately had someone to look to in crisis, but people...come onnnnn....standing on capitol hill, shouting we love you B while trying to get the perfect trajectory on those granny knickers you bought for just such an occasion is not only going to get you kicked out of your house by the frenziedly foreclosing banks but will more than likely get you booted into a home with padded walls and all the latest in electro-shock hair products...and deservedly so. Democracy is politics for the people BY the people.

People believe in Obama’s power to inspire hope however, they don’t believe that this in itself is enough to earn him title of great peacekeeper of the western world. I think Gandalf and himself have quite a bit in common, they are a little “different” from everyone else who has proceeded them. Gandalf being as mad as a bag of cats but Omni potently wise and Barack being the first black president and unlike his predecessor he can manage himself quite well via the English language. In many other aspects I think the pair are quite similar, now and again they drop out of the media spotlight or in Gandalf’s case out of the hobbits vision line and we begin to forget about them slightly. We worry about Frodo’s growing obsession with ‘his precious’ or the Iranians obsession with uranium and wonder where in the name of all that is Tolken have the white wizard or the black President gone. Then in the height of battle they reappear shining bright on a gleaming horse or a glittering Cadillac One limousine to round up the troops and instil faith into the tired population. We get the hump because here we have been fighting off orcs, wizardry and the financial crisis left, right and centre and they come along trying to rally us up once more…please!! However, what we forget is that all the while we have been bleeding sweating and crying they have been working tirelessly behind the scenes. How many times did Gandalf try to avoid violence, he searched high and low for a diplomatic solution to middle earths impending predicament but in the end he resigned himself to the idea that he had to fight fire with fire and eventually overcame all the prejudices which had emerged in earlier years between fairies, men, goblins and Russians. He regenerated co-operation between different beings, cultures and ways of life. That is exactly what Obama has achieved in HIS FIRST YEAR as president. He has brought the United States back into the International bargaining system. He is slowly but surely eroding the worlds prejudices against America and Americans which have emerged over the past few years. The United States is now a greater participant in international diplomacy. He has taken troops out of Iraq and has ensured that there isn’t a permanent U.S. military base in the country. He travelled to Turkey to speak directly to the Islamic community assuring them that the fight was not against them or their culture but against extremism and the endangering of innocent human life. He is tirelessly working towards a “greener” America in keeping with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). On a national scale he has also tried to bridge the gap between Republicans and Democrats by appointing at least one Republican to the cabinet and seeking the opinion and support of the Republicans. I could go on about the merits of both Gandalf and Obama but I know what you are thinking, what about everything they haven’t done. There are still troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan , Hobbits still have offensively hairy feet …but Mr. President is actively working on getting troops out of both countries and although the START agreement between Russia and the U.S still hasn’t been renewed both countries are still negotiating and WORKING TOGETHER, to erase the iron curtain mentality that still exists between the former U.S.S.R and the West. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Gandalf’s new mission. Spokespersons for all the leading dehairing brands refused to comment on the current discussions between themselves and the mighty one but an anonymous source has told me that the future is not looking bright for the hairy hoofed hobbits. So, blogees whether ye be American, Egyptian or crazy talking tree things, check yo’selves before you wreck yo’selves. Barack Obama is not nor ever will be a wizard or the owner of magical powers (although he did make both Sarah Palin and George W. Bush jnr disappear). For what he has achieved in his short time in office and the difference he has made to the U.S. Foreign policy and image he more than deserves this acolade.


"B...WE LOVE YOU ....(cue swooshing sound indicating a large body of synthetic fabric flying through the air)"