You would be hard pressed to find someone with internet access who does not have an opinion of some kind on President Obama’s Nobel Prize awarded last week. Scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed yielded an extensive number of opinions, but with not a great deal of variety. Thoughts seemed to range from pride at the ethnic/national importance of a black American winning award for peace (like this article from Kiron Skinner), to the more skeptical (like the opinion of John Feehery here). With comments like this one from JK Grence: ”Just got word that after watching a couple of football games yesterday, President Obama just won the Heisman Trophy.”; it can be fun to share opinions in a forum like Facebook.
Not all of the opposing opinions have been shared in a spirit of courtesy or love. There have been more that couple blowhardy comments that do more to rouse the anger of those who disagree than to communicate some sore of salient argument. In light of the fact that this is a prize to reward efforts towards peace, it is disappointing, to say the least.
The idea of world peace has been a frequent topic of conversation and contemplation in my life, as of late. Emailing back and forth with a close friend, I was disappointed to learn that he believes world peace is not possible. My view on this topic has been shaped recently by a documentary by Jeremy Gilley called “The Day After Peace”. It juxtaposes the beliefs of those who believe in the possibility of world peace, and those who consider themselves “realists”. You can view the short trailer for the film below.
I was referred to the video by a colleague from The Pacific Institute, where I am a consultant and facilitator. You may want to add “Pollyanna” to that job description as well, as there are many people who agree with my friend about the inanity of believing in world peace. Well, maybe that it too harsh of a way to put it, but there aren’t a lot of occasions where it is befitting to play the fool, as may be the case here. If working towards world peace is one of them, then this sometime is my time.
Whether President Obama deserved the award or not may be irrelevant. Peace will never be achieved while people are bullied or coerced into a certain belief or pattern of behavior. Individual decisions to be agents of peace (six billion of them) will do immeasurably more than a prize given to our celebrity president (no intention of disrespect).
Maybe it’s best to ask the question, “Would you rather believe in world peace, and have your life embody that belief, or be someone who is realistic?”
