Over the past week or so, the whole world has been abuzz over the possibility of Donald Trump (“of all people”) being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, a number of American congressmen have already nominated him for it.
The actual chance of Trump receiving the award, however, is zero.
Here’s why: The Nobel Peace Prize is not about celebrating the actual achievement of a meaningful peace. It is about advancing the naive and dangerous leftist ideology of pacifism.
Just look at who has received this prize in recent years:
Yasser Arafat, who for decades led a terrorist organization that targeted innocent Jewish, Israeli, and American civilians around the world. Why did he get this award? Because he insincerely signed an agreement to recognize Israel in exchange for gaining autonomy in the so-called “Palestinian territories” from Israel. Of course, he had no intention of following through on his commitments, and almost immediately he returned to terrorism.
Arafat wasn’t awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for actually achieving peace. He never did that. He received the award for playing the part of a pacifist for a brief time in his otherwise lifelong career of violence and terrorism.
Jimmy Carter, whose naive pacifism as president severely weakened the United States on the world stage, thereby emboldening the Soviets to invade Afghanistan and extending the Cold War for another decade. In his post-presidency, Carter continued to stick his naive pacifist nose into world affairs, resulting increased violence in the Middle East and the insane North Korean dictatorship obtaining nuclear weapons.
Once again, Carter never actually achieved peace. He received the award for his lifelong career of applying his naive pacifism to world affairs regardless of the disastrous consequences.
Al Gore, who, after spending eight years as the corrupt vice president to corrupt President Bill Clinton, dedicated his life to spreading the myth of “global warming.” He’s made tens of millions of dollars from this hoax that he has advanced by spreading disinformation and censoring and defaming anyone who dares to express an opposing view. The result has been to stifle economic growth around the world and suppress the opportunity of millions of people in third-world countries to improve their lives through economic freedom.
Gore never did anything that came remotely close to achieving peace anywhere in the world. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because his use of the hoax of “global warming” to combat capitalism around the world is consistent with the leftist ideology of the pacifists who give this award.
Barack Obama, whose naive pacifist ideology led to North Korea ultimately obtaining their nukes, legitimizing Iran’s nuclear weapons aspirations, thereby creating an existential threat to the Jewish State of Israel, and generally weakening the standing of the United States as the one post-Cold War superpower, thereby destabilizing the world and emboldening dictators and tyrants across the planet.
Obama did not achieve peace in any way, shape, or form. In fact, he had done literally nothing at all when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at the very beginning of his presidency. Rather, he received the award literally just for being a pacifist. That’s it. Yes, really.
What the Nobel Committee has never understood is that “peace,” in and of itself, is neither inherently good nor inherently bad. Peace that results from having been conquered is inherently evil. War to defend against such conquest is inherently good.
The only peace that is worthy of respect and recognition is that which protects and defends the freedom, liberties, and dignity of the people.
So, if the Nobel Peace Prize were really about recognizing the actual achievement of peace, the one person since World War II who would most deserve it, head and shoulders above anyone else in the world, would have been President Ronald Reagan, whose build-up of the U.S. military led to the utter and final defeat of the Soviet Union, the world’s greatest aggressor since World War II. Reagan’s policies of peace through strength did more to bring peace to the world than anyone else’s in the past 70 years.
Reagan did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize, however, and was never seriously considered for it because, again, the Nobel Peace Prize is not about recognizing the actual achievement of peace. Reagan accomplished the closest thing to world peace that we have seen in our lifetimes by rejecting pacifism. He is proof that everything the Nobel Prize stands for is wrong and counterproductive.
Which brings us back to Donald Trump.
Months ago, when North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was recklessly firing missiles over Japan and conducting illegal nuclear tests, Trump responded by stating that these actions will not be tolerated and by threatening military action. He gave a speech at the United Nations (another bastion of naive pacifism, but that’s a subject for another day), calling Kim “Little Rocket Man” and declaring that if Kim continued his course, the United States would respond with “fire and fury.”
It worked.
Where the appeasement of North Korea by Democrat Presidents Clinton and Obama emboldened the North to step up its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons, Trump’s line in the sand, backed by his having already enforced such a line in Syria with military action, caused Kim to back down.
Now, because of Trump’s demonstration of strength, Kim has become the first North Korean dictator to set foot into South Korea to hug and shake hands with the South’s President Moon Jae-in. Kim has agreed to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to formally ending the Korean War after more than 60 years.
If Kim follows through on his promises (which admittedly is far from guaranteed), it will be the greatest achievement of peace in the world since Reagan won the Cold War.
And it will once again discredit the pacifist ideology of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.
So, no, Donald Trump will not be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, even at the suggestion of South Korean President Moon. He won’t even be seriously considered for it because his accomplishment utterly discredits everything the Nobel Peace Prize stands for.
And for the same reason, Trump shouldn’t want it anyway. In fact, if Hell freezes over and he is offered the award, he should reject it.
After all, why would anyone want to be seen as carrying on the tradition of Yasser Arafat, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, and Barack Obama?
Author: Ken Falkenstein
Ken Falkenstein is the Managing Editor of Committed Conservative and brings a wealth of experience and expertise in public affairs to the job. Ken served in the U.S. Army in the last years of the Cold War as a Russian linguist for military intelligence and the NSA. After leaving the Army, he earned his degree in Secondary Education from Old Dominion University, where he also wrote a popular column in the student newspaper.
Upon graduation, Ken worked as a Legislative Aide to two Republican members of the Virginia House of Delegates. Ken also served as Corresponding Secretary of the Young Republican Federation of Virginia, managed several successful political campaigns, and managed governmental affairs operations for a local Realtor association.
In 1995, Ken moved to Washington, DC to serve as a Legislative Assistant to Sen. John Warner (R-VA). While working for Sen. Warner, Ken attended law school at night, earning his J.D. with honors from the George Mason University School of Law (n/k/a The Antonin Scalia Law School). Since that time, Ken has practiced as a civil litigation attorney, including serving for three years as an Associate City Attorney for the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Ken previously was a contributor to the highly-regarded political blog Bearing Drift and was a weekly co-host of The Steve Batton Radio Program. In 2016, Ken ran unsuccessfully for the Virginia Beach School Board. Ken is also a former President of the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads.
Ken now lives outside of Denver, Colorado with his wife, Kim, and three sons, Adam, Dylan, and Joshua, who has Down syndrome. Ken’s writing is motivated and informed primarily by his concern for his kids’ future.
