Nobel Prizes Are Obsolete at Best

Problems with their political nature and attribution of credit, and some proposed improvements.

I was completely astounded when I first heard that President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize within a year of his inauguration in 2009 for accomplishing absolutely nothing, while Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful violent force ever assembled in human history. If President Obama’s actions or lack of actions met the standard for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, then why hasn’t President Donald Trump received one yet, or even five, for far surpassing that standard in drawing down American military forces from Syria and Afghanistan, for working to de-escalate tensions in the Korean Peninsula, or for simply not starting a hot war with Iran, Russia, or China yet? Is it because President Trump’s actions do not matter, and instead his personality, demeanor, and politics matter more?

I do not say this from a partisan perspective since I did not vote for either Obama nor Trump, and am not particularly triggered by either of them as an unaffiliated Independent not registered with any Party, whether Democratic, Republican, or other. I could contextualize the Commander-in-Chief in terms of American military force, and how that force has bombed, invaded, and occupied sovereign countries, and caused…