Nobel Prize Like the Sports Illustrated Curse?
What is it with the Nobel Prize going to people and things on the precipice of failure? They just awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union as it's on the verge of pulling a continental Thelma and Louise over its debt crisis.
A few years ago, they gave the prize to President Barack Obama who was just setting out on his road to failing spectacularly and now, likely not getting re-elected. Obama rang up more epic fails in his presidency than Jimmy Carter, ironically enough also a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Yahoo.com reports:
The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its historic role in uniting the continent in an award meant as a morale boost for the bloc as it struggles to resolve its debt crisis.
The EU has been a key in transforming Europe "from a continent of wars to a continent of peace," Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said in announcing the award in Oslo.
"This is a message to Europe to do everything they can to secure what they've achieved and move forward," Jagland said, saying it was a reminder of what would be lost "if the union is allowed to collapse".
So, once again they're not giving the award for what the recipient has actually done. At least with Obama they gave it for things they thought he might do. This time, they're just giving as a morale boost as the EU condescends towards chaos, revolution and anarchy.
I have to wonder if the Nobel people have considered awarding the Prize to other endeavors such as:
The Chevy Volt
The Titanic
Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines
The 2012 Boston Red Sox
Beta Max
Joe Biden's MENSA application
Or maybe next year they could give it to this guy:
*subhead*Fail.*subhead*
While it is true that modern Europe is at peace where once there was the threat of horrific war, the EU can be said to have been an effect of that state of affairs, rather than its cause.
In a sense, "World War II" should be getting this peace prize, for so horrifying the continent that it gave up militarism cold turkey. The EU, both for good and ill, was born of that same spirit of "holy crap we can't go through that again!"; it certainly is not responsible for it.