peace

it's ironic. this morning, president barack obama received the nobel peace prize. this afternoon, his supporters and his opponents are bickering about the merits of the prize. did he deserve it? should he have declined it?

the answers to these questions are easy. yes, he deserved it. the nobel peace prize is not awarded by popular vote. it is awarded by a group of people who vote and decide what they think. that group decided that obama deserved this award. they are the only votes that count. and yes, he should have accepted it. it would have been a slap in the face to the international community obama is trying to reconcile with if he had said no. also, from a personal standpoint, it is one of the greatest honors someone could ever receive. there is no way you can say no to that.

why is it, though, that while the international community is rallying around obama, listening to his ideas and wanting to work with him, those in our country seem to see this award as a negative? it could have been a great moment for our country to rally around the president. to take a moment to step outside of our political views, look at the progress the country and the world have made in the past year, and been proud. why is it that we have to have national disasters to rally around each other? why can't we rally around each other in national moments of triumph, when one of our own has done something great for the world?