An Ode to War & Peace — Part I: Obama’s Prize
(or, alternatively: His Highness’ Heinous Hypocrisy)

Five years ago today, the Nobel Committee announced that it was awarding that year’s Noble Peace Prize to none other than Barack Obama — at the time a leading figure in two official international confrontations (a.k.a. wars) and dozens of covert military operations. One week after accepting his award, a US Navy submarine launched a cluster bomb-laden cruise missile at a suspected militant camp in al Majala, homeland of one of the poorest tribes in southern Yemen. The missile slammed into the hamlet, and its shrapnel tore into — and killed — at least 41 civilians, among them at least 21 children and 12 women – five of whom were pregnant.

And this was no anomaly … Under President Obama’s own six year reign of terror in the Middle East & northern Africa, U.S. drones have not only perpetually “buzzed” overhead (leading ALL the residents of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen & Somalia to live in an almost constant state of fear), but close to 2000 actual U.S. drone strikes have killed thousands upon thousands of people in those countries during that same span of time — a sizable portion of whom were innocent civilians, regularly including women & children … And we wonder why the Taliban & Al Qaeda & Hamas & ISIS & groups like them have so much success in encouraging otherwise peaceful Muslims to support their nefarious schemes!

So let us all have the basic humility to note that, while we can & should both fully & completely denounce the violence & the terror & the condemnatory theology that ISIS publicly stands for, admit as well that more than a few of you reading this post would probably be inspired to rebel in similar fashion if China or North Korea was drone-monitoring &/or drone-striking suspected “American terrorists” in the United States.

And it is with this in mind — at the conclusion of this initial installment of this short series on the current US/ISIS conflict — that I offer a brief trip down memory lane … by reprinting a letter I wrote about Obama’s Peace Prize; a letter that is even more poignant today than it was back then.

As allWays … enJOY,
and as allWays … PEACE to ALL!

S

………………………….

(the following was written & released in early January of 2010)

A New Year’s Resolution of Resolutions …
(a response to Obama’s Peace Prize)

Late last year, President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The award was somewhat shocking in light of Obama’s active role in supporting the still on-going wars in Afghanistan & Iraq, and he hinted as much himself when the announcement was first made. Many waited to see if this honor, previously awarded to such noble and successful peace-workers as Martin Luther King Jr., the Dalai Lama, and Mahatma Gandhi, would have an affect on the President’s pro-war stance. And yet such hopes were dashed last December, when Obama had the gall to champion war DURING his Peace Prize acceptance speech (!!!), stating — with regards to the American troops currently fighting in Afghanistan, “I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people … Some will kill. Some will be killed.”

Most disturbingly, Obama seemed to completely discount both Martin Luther King’s domestic success using means of peaceful civil disobedience, as well as Gandhi’s international success using similar non-violent methods, stating, “A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is necessary is not a call to cynicism, it is a recognition of history.”

At this point, it is up to every thinking man & woman to pause and question Obama’s historical facts. War has been used to promote peace for thousands of years – and never once has it succeeded (for those citing WWII as an example to the contrary, please realize that the Nazi movement in Germany is alive and well, having gone deep underground after the war to continue to thrive in a fashion even more sinister — albeit not nearly as flagrant). Indeed, it is the most basic of psychological realities that what is attacked will defend itself; that what is overcome with force will simply find another outlet for its “evil” elsewhere. On the other hand, non-violence has been consequently followed only once on an international scale, and it succeeded in liberating an entire nation!

And even if one is to cling to the belief that war is justified in situations involving either times of “self-defense” or “humanitarian force” against acts of genocide, it is quite clear that neither exception is relevant in the current American theater of war. We have been fighting in Iraq & Afghanistan longer than we did in WWI & WWII combined, and we are no closer to “winning” than when we started. Indeed, for every terrorist we eliminate, we create at least three more (at the very least, the members of his/her immediate family).

Yes, Obama seems to be right in stating that “evil does exist in the world”, and yet we must ask ourselves: is our mission to condemn evil and therefore perpetuate its existence, or have we finally the courage as a species to respond in a different manner that will be truly effective? If Obama’s presidential goal is truly “to take the threat of terrorism seriously”, then he needs to respond to acts of terrorism with means consistent with his desired ends – If he truly desires peace, he must respond nobly & peacefully. Obama himself said it best when he stated, “We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. And we honor those ideals by upholding them not when it is easy, but when it is hard.”

And what are these “ideals” of which he speaks? Military victory via the tragic sacrifice of thousands of families? Peace via acts of violence? Justice via punishments that imitate their crimes? Are these really the ideals that we aspire to as Human Beings? Are these values really more cherished than Love – than Harmony – than Happiness? I think not, and I have faith that the majority of you think not as well …

Of course, the more sinister Truth seems to be the following: Neither Obama nor his administration desires peace at all! Nowhere in the world is a war less winnable than in the country of Afghanistan (ask the Russians about this one!), and at no time in history have violent means ever enabled peaceful ends.

And so we reach the point of points: What can we each do in such dark times? How can we influence our leadership to alter its evil response to evil? In essence, at least on a political level, we cannot. The American political “machine” is quite content to continue along its current dark path – generating material wealth for the few at the expense of the lives and happiness of the many.

And yet, hope is anything but lost – WE EACH CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! In essence, if Barack Obama and the members of his administration do not have the moral fiber to stand as noble representatives of Humanity; if they do not wish to exhibit the courage necessary to respond to the world’s challenges with the strength of loving kindness (the only force that will save our species), then we can do so in our everyday lives. Indeed, it us up to each of us to stop looking the other way when our leaders cave to making excuses for their primitive, self-serving ideologies; to cease waiting for them to “wake up” – and to start being the change we wish to see in the world instead …

Fortunately, great change has never required great numbers. You are not “only one person” – You are a single-yet-extremely-powerful Human Being, and you have the right and the privilege to act accordingly. You have a right to replace your support for Barack Obama with a loving kindness extended to all those you encounter each day (especially those people you dislike). You have the right to replace your support for your favorite political party with a loving support for all Americans. You have the right to replace your support for the United States with a loving support for all of Humanity.

The time is NOW — It is up to us to stop being led by the blind, and start showing those “leaders” another way. Maybe Obama ironically said it best when he stated, “Let us reach for the world that ought to be.”

Indeed, President Obama … in-deed!