Doomed for failure by global expectation

Sara Garrun

Tweet: And the award goes to- Obama! (for ambition)Science to- Michelle! (for their amazing chemistry) and literature to-me! For writing this post.

Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Firstly, all Obama has offered is a handful of promises, and pure ambition is not praise worthy to the extent that actions are. Yes, Obama has given hope to a nation but we must realise that the majority of the promises he has made are still unfilled. Guantanamo Bay is open and running, there has been no resolution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and his illustrious health plan has not yet materialised.

Secondly we must realise that an award for diplomacy is dubious in itself. Randolph Bourne once said “Diplomacy is a disguised war, in which states seek to gain by barter and intrigue... the objectives which they would have to gain more clumsily by means of war.” So although the jury feels justified in their decision, Obama could still have ulterior motives.

Every president offers these promises, what makes Obama different? Dare I say it… he is the first black president in the United States as well as being the successor to Bush.

One must also take a moment to see what the other nominees had to offer. Morgan Tsvangirai has been fighting for democracy in Zimbabwe for over a decade; he has been jailed, tried for treason, tortured and robbed of an election victory by his wicked opponent Mugabe.

Lastly, it is important to note that even if Obama is deserving of his award, he is now doomed for failure by global expectation.