Here it is, a special Columbus Day comic just for you!
On a different note, how about that Nobel Peace Prize that Obama won this weekend, eh? I won’t get into whether he deserves it or not (I spent enough time this weekend arguing that with friends). I will say that it is a little strange to me just how uniform and vicious the opposition to the selection of Obama for the Peace Prize is.
It’s not as if Obama is the first recipient to be selected based on what they are working to accomplish (which seems to be the sort of rationale the committee offered this year) rather than what they have already accomplished. Last I checked, Al Gore had not yet succeeded in putting an end to Global Warming when he won. It’s understandable why one might object to that sort of practice, maybe people think that the prize should be reserved for things that have already been accomplished. But then why have we not seen nearly as much widespread opposition and outrage at the selection of Peace Prize recipients like Gore?
This phenomenon is not restricted just to the Peace Prize. I leave you with a rather humorous look at the many things that were once a beloved part of Americana, but no longer are because of Obama.
Of course the best movie that Chris Columbus ever directed was ‘Home Alone 2’, end of debate.
Hahaha. That was funny. Still Nester could withhold his belief that there is only one Colombus, but that he has (had) two bodies. It would probably do well with some substance dualism view. Say, there is only one soul but two bodies.
It is a funny example of how one can adopt increasingly strange or obscure or fantastic ad hoc beliefs to save another belief from contradiction.
Emil, that’s a GREAT response. Thanks for the laugh.
I just finished a discussion with an Eastern Orthodox guy about the two wills of Christ, so I especially appreciate that :-). (For general information: the doctrine of two wills appears to be required if one presupposes that a will is part of a ‘nature’ and that Christ has two natures, God and Man. The problem is that most modern anthropologies suppose that will is personal, not part of a nature; indeed, the entire concept of nature has slipped in philosophical significance, probably thanks to the influence, even indirect, of existentialism.)
Hmm. Chaospet, is Nester Nestorian? (Probably not — after all, Nestorius is now conceded to not have been Nestorian in the sense that the Council condemned.)
Heh, church history holds so many examples of how not to do philosophy.
-Wm
Chaospet: no denying that Republicans have themselves some serious ODS (Obama Derangement Syndrome), but the shock at the Committee’s award is pretty much solid across the ideological spectrum. It’s just really, really weird to award what’s supposed to be such a major prize to someone who’s only barely explained how he’s going to earn it. I saw one amusing explanation that Obama’s award is actually really the third “congratulations for not being Bush” award. (I don’t have so much a problem with that — I’m already pretty sure that Obama’s not Bush.) (Yes, I take that as a joke.)
More seriously, this isn’t the first Peace Prize that was awarded in advance of any sign of success. Le Duc Tho famously turned his prize down in ’73.
(And no, I see no reason why Obama should turn it down — it’s an honor, not a shame, and he truly has said that he’s trying to do the things they’re awarding. Now all he has to do is DO those things! As one philosopher said, if you wanna be starting something, you’ve gotta be starting something.)
-Wm
I’ve been given other examples of prizes being awarded to people that haven’t actually done the deed yet, in some sense. Al Gore also got a peace prize, and he did not stop global warming. I suppose he got it for trying to stop global warming. Obama, likewise, tried/is trying to stop war(?). I don’t follow actual politics that much.
“I’ve been given other examples of prizes being awarded to people that haven’t actually done the deed yet, in some sense. Al Gore also got a peace prize, and he did not stop global warming.”
That’s a poor comparison, I think; Gore had done an immense amount of work, and in fact had given up a successful career and successfully defined himself by his work on global warming. Obama’s definitely articulated the ideas that this Nobel is given for, so it’s not inapt; but he hasn’t elaborated them even conceptually, much less brought them to practice, and I don’t see how anyone could identify Obama as “the president who is working on reducing the problem of nuclear weapons”, even if he’s unarguably the president who wants to do so.
Oh, belated congrats to Chaospet for bringing zombies into the comic. We see what you’re doing here.
Perhaps you are right. I just read about it in a newspaper.
Wm: Oh I agree, the opposition is across the spectrum, that’s what surprises me. It is strange to me that people across the spectrum are this worked up about it, whether they agree with the decision or not. As you say, there have been a number of occasions in the past that the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded in advance of concrete achievements. And nuclear disarmament has been a consistent central cause of Obama’s since before he was President, and he has made some substantial progress at uniting the world behind him, opening dialog with Russia (by doing things like dropping the plans for the nuclear shield in Poland, etc).
I will grant that given the Nobel committee’s rationale, it might have made since to wait a little while longer and give him the chance to produce some more concrete results. On the other hand, I can see the committee’s argument that they are also trying to support and encourage his efforts, and again, this isn’t the first time the Peace Prize has been awarded in this way. So ultimately, I just don’t get what all the controversy is about. It makes good sense to me to support nuclear disarmament; after all, as we all know, radiation is one of the leading causes of zombies (right after crazy rage-inducing viruses).
Huh. Obama. Well think about it this way (perhaps), the far right say that Obama really hasn’t done anything good (and probably a bunch of bad stuff). Now on the outside (the part most people pay attention to) Obama hasn’t actually done all that much to deserve this award, which seems to agree with the far right. Add to that how the media (or at least Google News articles) are presenting the issue it is gong to appear (to the average Joe) that Obama really hasn’t done anything. Now the democrats are (justifiably) worried about people seeing them as complete Obama maniacs, ie that they have no backbone and are liars (which is how they would appear if they went against the vast general consensus). Denouncing the award is a way to show that they have backbone without really opposing the President on direct policy (though some of them do). In fact they get to blame a bunch of Norwegians (So I have been led to believe), so much better than blaming Obama or any other American for that matter (from an American perspective).
Of course the award acts as an incentive for Obama to actually work on the things that he has promised, and of course it does a bunch of other positive stuff… And despite the seeming criticism I think it works out well for the left (or more left, I maintain that the US really doesn’t have an actual left, but that’s a story for another time). Not only does it focus American ire onto someone other than each other (which makes both sides seem more reasonable) it also means that when the far right starts to blame Obama for getting the award (I bet they have already) it means that the far right will come out looking even more crazy then before. I mean, even Obama was obviously surprised by the award. He even called himself “unworthy” which goes right along with the general consensus I think.
So, friends, sit back, relax, and watch as yet another trivial matter becomes something of odd importance in this odd odd world.