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Much has and will be said about whether a sitting U.S. president "who hasn't done much yet" should be the recipient of a well-known award that places his name next to "real peace seekers" such as Mahatma Gandhi.
Even though Gandhi was nominated several times he never received the prize because he was considered both a peace-maker and a warrior at the same time.
Nobel himself was more atoning for his invention of the dynamite when the dynamite was starting to be used for war purposes.
True perspective only comes with time.
Perhaps Alfred Einstein said it best. In a speech in 1945, after the atom bombs were dropped over Japan in August of that year. Einstein pointed out that the physicists in 1945 were in a situation which much resembled that in which Alfred Nobel once found himself. Einstein drew his conclusion from this: "Alfred Nobel invented an explosive more powerful than any then known -- an exceedingly effective means of destruction. To atone for this 'accomplishment' and to relieve his conscience, he instituted his award for the promotion of peace."
It's much easier to honor achievements in the physical sciences 40 years after the invention as in the case of fiber optics or charge coupled devices, than to evaluate a political leader's drive for peace, but one can certainly ask the recipient directly this day and age.
Technology has always been an enabler for both fighting and communicating.
Motivations is the barometer of mankind.
Posted by Nic Mokhoff on Oct 10, 2009 03:49 AM in Consumer
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