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Every year the Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for awarding worthy candidates a Nobel Prize. The categories include Nobel Prizes for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, economic sciences, and of course, peace. Past Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded to Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter and Malala Yousafzai.
This year’s nominees include: Pope Francis, the Afghan women’s cycling team, Nadia Murad, who is fighting for the rights of ISIS rape victims, the groups that have been welcoming in Syrian refugees on Greek Islands, the people responsible for ending fifty years of civil war in Colombia, and Edward Snowden, the NSA security leaker.
Oh, also among those nominated is former reality television star and current presidential candidate Donald Trump. To most people, this probably seems like a joke, or at least makes you wonder, “How?”
Courtesy: CNN
According to CNN, the nominator of Donald Trump, who remains anonymous, praised Trump for “his vigorous peace through strength ideology, used as a threat of deterrence against radical Islam, ISIS, nuclear Iran and communist China.”
In order to be nominated for any of the Nobel Prizes, a qualified nominator must enter their nominee’s name, their title or professional affiliation, and include a letter saying why they should be considered for the prize. A qualified nominator must fall within one of these categories:
Courtesy: Nobel Prize
Past recipients of this award are known for being peaceful advocates for the causes they have fought for. Malala Yousafzai is a human rights activist for education, especially female education in the Middle East. She is the youngest recipient ever of the Nobel Peace Prize. In her peaceful fight for education, the Taliban attempted to assassinate her, but she recovered and went on to speak at the United Nations headquarters, calling for worldwide education for children.
Nelson Mandela was a civil rights activist who protested for a free democratic society, equality and education. He spent much of his life in prison, but that never stopped him from fighting for a free and equal society in South Africa. More on his life and accomplishments can be found at his website, nelsonmandela.org.
Donald Trump’s plans of “vigorous peace through strength ideology,” said by Nobel watcher Kristian Harpviken here, include building a giant wall along the United States-Mexico border, implementing an anti-immigration policy, and making it more difficult for legal immigrants to attain jobs, as shown here.
While some of Trump’s intentions may seem peaceful, others may have a different opinion. Trump claims that building a giant wall blocking Mexico will help to “keep out the rapists.” He hopes to “make America great again” by not allowing refugees into the country, but isn’t that what made America great in the first place? Even when the United States was just 13 colonies, people came here to escape from religious suppression. Immigrants have counted on the United States when their own countries were no longer safe, and to live with basic freedoms. Wouldn’t taking that away take the greatness out of America?
Past Nobel Peace Prize recipients have shown great personal strength, astounding leadership and have risked their lives fighting peacefully for human rights. Hopefully this year’s recipients of the prize will continue the tradition of possessing the same qualities.