Criteria for winning the Nobel Prize

I thought I will start my blog on health care reform. But I changed my mind after listening to the morning news that President Obama has been conferred the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize award. Right from day 1, when he announced that he is running for Presidency, i had my trumpet cards on him that he would surely win and i was a local volunteer during the campaign. It was a great moment and triumph for many especially Africans to witness this young, charismatic, Harvard educated lawyer to become the youngest President of the United States. Positive thinking has the power to unite the world and the campaign used the power of language to impact the minds of people. President used to quote Martin Luther King's words and Martin Luther King used to quote Gandhi.

Mr President has been into the office for approximately 8 and 1/2 months and some people have insane expectations on him to accomplish all the things he promised during the election campaign. They forget that he is a human being too and he alone doesn't decide to implement policies. But one thing Mr President has not deviated from is, his constant message of world peace, nuclear disarmament, global warming and other issues that affect the entire world. Its a clear shift from the mentality of Bush era.

Now that the Nobel committee has awarded him the Peace Prize, the right wings have yet another topic to slaughter "whether President deserves or not". Many people are surprised by the committee's decision because President Obama is yet to deliver the goods he promised.

Initially only science was included in the Nobel Prize. Later on, subjects like Literature, Peace, and Economics were all added to the list. The criteria in the strict sense was "it should have positive impact on humankind". The world is like an extended family and in this global economy, Obama Presidency has opened the eyes and minds of the majority to see things in different perspectives. It is not one country that can do everything for the rest of the world. President has been doing his part since day one he entered the office. He has the potential to deliver what he promised. He has been consistently a unifying force in trying to get certain bills pass through senate, house and the congress. We are yet to see certain results like health care bill, gay rights and immigration.

War always saps a Nation's economy. Eight years of Bush's non-sensical war mentality has dragged down this country to a mess. Republican government(there could be exceptions!) is mainly for the riches. It will take some time to recuperate from the current mess. President Obama is undoing some of the Bush's policies that cost US some damage on the International stage. During Bush times, not much investment was spent on education and research. Any country that doesn't take care of the educational system will soon go down the drain. Its my hope that President Obama, who has very good intentions, succeeds in achieving his goals. This country became a superpower because it recognized brain power. Every great act/accomplishment starts with good/noble thoughts. There is a positive reaction now from many countries around the world towards the United States. In Science, it may take years to prove/disprove a theory and hence may take years to award the scientists. Examples are Quantum Physicist Wolfgang Pauli(it took two decades for the Nobel committee to realize the work of Pauli), Astrophysicist Chandrasekhar(it took almost 5 decades). Peace doesn't have to take years to see some of the changes already taking place. When we change our mind, the world automatically changes. So, from this standpoint, President Obama definitely deserves the Peace Prize. I hope people around the world, wake up, get educated so that any political leader doesn't abuse powers and should remember that he is answerable to the public. Because its the people who have the power to select/throw any Government.

Wish Mr President good luck in everything.