Obama wins Peace Prize -

On a plane, returning from The Netherlands shortly before the election, the Dutch gentleman next to me on the plane said, “It would be wonderful if Obama won. It would tell the world that United States is still a beacon of hope and that equality is possible, that change is possible.” I tried to be matter of fact, but to hear my country spoken of us a beacon, as a place to which people might look for hope and guidance struck deeply. This is what President Obama has done for the world. And he has used his position to champion a nuclear free world, peace in the middle east, economic development across the globe, a real fight against global warming - which at this moment is putting nations in the Pacific in crisis - and engagement with both allies and enemies. The peace prize for the fight against land mines was not given out when land mines were gone - we still deal with them, the peace prize to Aung Sang Suu Kyi was not given when she attained the presidency and the peace prize for fighting global warming was not given when that battle was won. These are given to help those waging the fight. Amnesty International, Medicin Sans Frontiers, and President Barack Obama. Once again, Americans need to open up and see things through another’s eyes. As the committee said “Very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.”
We are a beacon again, let’s celebrate and more importantly, get down to the hard work of keeping the light ablaze.