The question should be “Who chose him?” Winning the prize is supposed to be a significant honor; however it is not. It is the result
of a fluke of history and then ingenious promotion by the Nobel Prize committee.
It all began in 1867 when a Norwegian chemist, Alfred Nobel, invented a material that was safer to handle than nitroglycerin. Suddenly any construction involving rock blasting could be done without the death toll taken by the use of nitro or black powder, mining, tunneling and digging canals. It was a time when these activities were at their peak.
Nobel called this new explosive dynamite. Quickly the military realized that while the substance would save lives in the construction industry, it could be used to kill in war. A good killing device was always useful and Nobel became enormously rich.
Near the end of his life, Nobel decided to do something that would remove the aura of death that surrounded his name and assure it would be honored by future generations. He wrote a will that contained the provision that the greater part of his fortune should be used to create an annual award to be called the Nobel Peace Price and it should go, to quote the will, “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” He died in 1897.
Who would be the illustrious officials so knowledgeable of what action had made the greatest contribution to world peace and who had made it? Surely it would be a committee consisting of great statesmen from around the world. But no, the prize would represent the opinion of five obscure politicians who were members of the Norwegian parliament. Suppose Governor Perdue decided to create the Sonny Perdue Peace Price, and announced the winner would be chosen by five state reps. Do you suppose there would be headlines around the world announcing the winner? So why does the opinion of five equivalents in Norway mean anything? You’ve got me!
The Peace prize was awarded for the first time to a Swiss and a Frenchman. It was given attention in Europe mostly because of the $150,000 that went with it, a small fortune in those years.
There is no evidence that the award was given much, if any, publicity, in America. So it went for the next four years. The winner was noted in Europe, but ho hum in the rest of the world.
In 1905 the eyes of the world were on the flamboyant U.S. President, Teddy Roosevelt. He was negotiating with the Czar of all the Russias and the Emperor of Japan to end their war. Teddy loved the spotlight and periodically issued attention-getting statements reported by the world press.
T.R. was successful and in 1906 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Americans, most of whom had never heard of the Prize and had no knowledge of who made the selection, went wild. Our country and our president was recognized on the world stage. The Nobel Peace Prize would have probably continued in relative obscurity if Teddy had not announced he would travel to Norway to accept it. Winning the Nobel Peace Prize must be a great honor if the President of the United State would spend days traveling all that way and back across the Atlantic. Only close friends were aware that if the LaGrange, Georgia, lodge of the Loyal Order of the Moose voted him an award he would be on the next train south.
However, the Nobel committee recognized the way to create an aura of honor around the award was to give it to famous people.
But now knowing who chooses the Peace Prize, should we pay any attention to who wins it? Well, the $150,000 given the winner in 1901 has grown to a tidy $10 million today. The winner should be given the same respect we give to someone who has won the lottery. And no more.
However, it’s important to know that while the Nobel Peace Prize is chosen by five political hacks in Norway, winning the other Nobel
prizes is a great honor. Prestigious institutions in Sweden choose these.
Only the Peace Prize is of no consequence. At least Presiden Obama has not tried to capitalize on winning it.
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