Peace Is The (Only) Way!

Friends,

It was painful listening to President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.  His speech requires little, if any, comment; it speaks for itself, and speaks volumes as to the hubris of this man.  Here is a brief perspective written on the eve of his speech (letter to the editor published in The Seattle Times online edition); this is the unedited version.

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On the eve of President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech I find myself wondering to whom he will donate his prize money. He doesn’t need it, and there must be countless organizations vying for the 10 million Swedish kroner.

Perhaps in light of his commitment to sending another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, the President could create a fund to help the families of those (both U.S. troops and Afghans) who will lose their lives as a result of his actions.

Of course, no amount of money can truly compensate those who will die, either U.S. or Afghanis, as a result of the hubris of misguided politicians. We can only hope that the voices for peaceful means of addressing conflict will one day (soon) drown out the cacophony of militarism that has led us to this tragic state.

The President might take a lesson from a previous Nobel Peace Prize winner, Martin Luther King Jr. who (in 1964) was considered by the Nobel Committee to be, “the first person in the Western world to have shown us that a struggle can be waged without violence.”

As A.J. Muste once said, “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.”

May each of us continue to remind President Obama (and all who seek to justify war) of Muste's wisdom.

Peace,

Leonard

Note:  Since writing this post, John Dear wrote a response to Obama's speech in his column On the Road to Peace titled, Obama's Nobel War Speech.  It is well worth reading!