Wednesday, December 15, 2004
There's no Nobel Prize for Logic
My apologies in advance: I'm fired up tonight. So fired up I almost spit my wine spritzer all over my pinstripes earlier today. Why?
I'm glad you asked. Let me explain.
In an earlier post, I offered a modest proposal that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, rather than give its pride and joy to the international flavor of the month, should buck up and give a prize to the various Iraqi bloggers who inhabit both sides of the political spectrum. At the time, I pointed out that it was the least they could do after giving the prize to people like Yasser Arafat and Jimmy Carter. I also noted that “some Kenyan woman” got the Nobel Peace Prize for “planting a bunch of trees.” (Actually, I called her “some Nigerian woman” until an astute reader pointed out that she was in fact Kenyan - thanks for that).
It turns out I was wrong.
Our most recent savior of the planet, er, Nobel laureate is more than a mere tree planter. In addition to her yeoman’s work in the field of growing things, she’s also apparently possessed of other helpful ideas as well.
Leaving aside for a moment the relative anonymity of her accomplishments, the likes of which the august Nobel committee has become expert at rewarding these days, one might be tempted to know what other wise saws this newly anointed font of knowledge has blessed us with.
I have one! It turns out that our newest guiding light on the road to world peace believes that AIDS was created in a lab as a biological weapon. Since she also points out that the majority of AIDS victims are Africans, the conclusion is fairly clear: AIDS was created in order to kill black people.
I remember those heady days when I believed that the UN equaled right and the Nobel Peace prize really meant something. People like Ghandi and Martin Luther King took a brave stand and really did affect millions of people. When I compare the accomplishments of people like that to today’s winners, it seems apparent to me that the award has become meaningless. Sadly, however, many people continue to believe that winning the Nobel Peace Prize and making a difference are the same thing. Thus our Kenyan friend will be able to dine out for the rest of her life, her eager audiences lapping up all of her crackpot theories as though they were fact.
There’s always hope, though. Iraq the Model isn’t going anywhere, I think.
12/15/2004 01:45:00 AM posted by Smiley
I'm glad you asked. Let me explain.
In an earlier post, I offered a modest proposal that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, rather than give its pride and joy to the international flavor of the month, should buck up and give a prize to the various Iraqi bloggers who inhabit both sides of the political spectrum. At the time, I pointed out that it was the least they could do after giving the prize to people like Yasser Arafat and Jimmy Carter. I also noted that “some Kenyan woman” got the Nobel Peace Prize for “planting a bunch of trees.” (Actually, I called her “some Nigerian woman” until an astute reader pointed out that she was in fact Kenyan - thanks for that).
It turns out I was wrong.
Our most recent savior of the planet, er, Nobel laureate is more than a mere tree planter. In addition to her yeoman’s work in the field of growing things, she’s also apparently possessed of other helpful ideas as well.
Leaving aside for a moment the relative anonymity of her accomplishments, the likes of which the august Nobel committee has become expert at rewarding these days, one might be tempted to know what other wise saws this newly anointed font of knowledge has blessed us with.
I have one! It turns out that our newest guiding light on the road to world peace believes that AIDS was created in a lab as a biological weapon. Since she also points out that the majority of AIDS victims are Africans, the conclusion is fairly clear: AIDS was created in order to kill black people.
I remember those heady days when I believed that the UN equaled right and the Nobel Peace prize really meant something. People like Ghandi and Martin Luther King took a brave stand and really did affect millions of people. When I compare the accomplishments of people like that to today’s winners, it seems apparent to me that the award has become meaningless. Sadly, however, many people continue to believe that winning the Nobel Peace Prize and making a difference are the same thing. Thus our Kenyan friend will be able to dine out for the rest of her life, her eager audiences lapping up all of her crackpot theories as though they were fact.
There’s always hope, though. Iraq the Model isn’t going anywhere, I think.
