Once The Nobel Prize Meant Something

There was a time when the Nobel Prize meant something. Certainly we appear to be fast moving beyond a time when it does. For some reason the committee has decided that the United States is to be disdained and disregarded. Even the awarding of the award recently to Barack Obama seemed as much a provocation to America as a genuine acknowledgement of anything worthwhile. I am certainly not saying awards should come to America each year or even very often. Not at all. However you will have to go to some extreme explaining to tell me how the European Union qualifies for this years Nobel Prize.

This the same European Union who has struggled all year under German hegemony, watching Prime Minister Merkel dictate terms to Greece and threaten other countries in Europe with economic ruin should they not put into place budgets of extreme austerity so that they might be able to pay back their loans to their creditors.

This the same union who promotes peace by standing aside for French neo nationalism policies that disallow women from wearing a burka. This is not a big issue on my plate but certainly has to be a factor on a peace prize.

A peace prize? When has Europe ever done anything to deserve a peace prize. Do not get me wrong. I love Europe. Strong safety net, nationalized healthcare, strong unions, I am on board saying that in many ways America could do much worse than to copy Europe. However a peace prize for the European Union has no basis in fact or believability.

While we are on the subject of Nobel Prizes lets take a detour and talk about the prize for literature. I try to read as much as I can and certainly feel like I keep up pretty well. This year the prize went to a Chinese author who I had not yet heard of. This was no great surprise, it certainly did not mean that it should not be awarded as such. However I, in the interim, have read a few stories and while entertaining I, perhaps I am too provincial, found nothing exceptional in it. Year after year one hears that Americans Phillip Roth and, my favorite choice, Cormac McCarthy will be the winner for literature and at least compared to recent winners certainly that day needs to be now.

The Nobel Prize does not need to be American based, even Western based, it does however need to be something that does not recognize a Chinese author in the interests of nothing but balance.