I had read Obama's Nobel lecture in passing earlier in the day, but it was not until late in the evening I finally sat down and spent the almost 40 minutes watching him deliver the address.
He referenced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
He reference his predecessor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. receiving the same prize for which he was being honored.
December 10, 1948 - the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
December 10, 1964 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., accepted his Nobel and gave his Nobel address.
December 10. 2009 - President Barack Obama received his Nobel and gave his Nobel lecture.
This confluence of events yesterday evokes certain thoughts in me, which for better or worse I choose to share here, now. I invite you to join me.
From the Declaration, the conclusion of the Preamble:
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
From King's remarks:
I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land.
"And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid."
I still believe that we shall overcome.
And from Obama:
But we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached -- their fundamental faith in human progress -- that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.
For if we lose that faith -- if we dismiss it as silly or naïve; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace -- then we lose what's best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass.
Like generations have before us, we must reject that future. As Dr. King said at this occasion so many years ago, "I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the 'isness' of man's present condition makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal 'oughtness' that forever confronts him."
Let us reach for the world that ought to be -- that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls.
The world is not at peace. I am more than halfway through this, my 64th year on this earth. In my lifetime there has never been complete peace on earth. When I was born the guns of the 2nd World War had fallen still, but conflict was beginning to erupt in Greece. Before I entered 1st grade the Korean conflict had begun - and officially it still continues. I have lived through 4 major conflicts involving Israel - 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973. There have been border wars between India and China, a war between Pakistan and Bangladesh, and so many more, including our involvement in conflicts major (Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan) and minor.
We hope for peace. We strive for peace. We aspire for a day when men and women, young and not so young, will no longer have to go to war, to take up arms, to take life, to risk life, limb and psyche.
Without hope people despair. Without hope there is no progress. Without hope even love can wither and die.
Peace is not merely the absence of conflict, armed or otherwise.
True peace cannot be maintained while injustice is allowed to continue, while some face starvation, dislocation, thirst, and worse.
The Nobel has often been given to affirm work that is not yet complete. In December of 1964 the US may have passed a Civil Rights Act, but injustice and segregation and discrimination were still a reality for many.
King began his address by telling his audience he was mindful - of the recent history, of the continued inequity. He was blunt:
I am mindful that debilitating and grinding poverty afflicts my people and chains them to the lowest rung of the economic ladder.
Therefore, I must ask why this prize is awarded to a movement which is beleaguered and committed to unrelenting struggle; to a movement which has not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel Prize.
After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of that movement is profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time -- the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.
26 years earlier, the 28th Article of the Declaration had stated
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
King experienced an America in which that was still not true. Those who look around our nation today should honesty admit that the rights espoused in that Declaration are not fully available to all Americans. Consider only this:
Article 25.
* (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
* (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
And as our Congress continues its debates on healthcare, at a time when this nation lags behind those far less wealthy than are we in providing health care to all, we should acknowledge that the aspirations of that Declaration remain in part unmet in the US 61 years after the UN adopted them, in a document for which our former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had a major role in the Declaration being developed and adopted.
Wherever possible we need to affirm the positive movement that we can discern, lest those striving to advance the cause of peace get discouraged, so that others might be encouraged to do the hard work of trying to move their nations, the global society more towards real peace.
Obama's remarks spoke to this. Consider this paragraph:
So even as we respect the unique culture and traditions of different countries, America will always be a voice for those aspirations that are universal. We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi; to the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings; to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of Iran. It is telling that the leaders of these governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation. And it is the responsibility of all free people and free nations to make clear that these movements -- these movements of hope and history -- they have us on their side.
And also this:
Somewhere today, in the here and now, in the world as it is, a soldier sees he's outgunned, but stands firm to keep the peace. Somewhere today, in this world, a young protestor awaits the brutality of her government, but has the courage to march on. Somewhere today, a mother facing punishing poverty still takes the time to teach her child, scrapes together what few coins she has to send that child to school -- because she believes that a cruel world still has a place for that child's dreams.
That was Obama's penultimate paragraph. An affirmation of the ordinary people who still aspire to peace, who do the work the undergirds real movement towards peace.
We have that opportunity as well. In how we engage in politics. In how we express ourselves in political discourse. We can contribute to an environment in which peace becomes more possible. Or we can choose a path in which the rhetoric becomes so heated that people become rigid in their positions, unable to find a way out.
Sometimes those who oppose peace and liberty do so out of fear. I see this in schools, where many adults are afraid of allowing the students to learn to exercise freedom - exercising freedom can be messy, disorderly. But if our highest goal is merely order a dictatorial order where all are afraid can more easily achieve that. If one applies that at the international level, it might be the absence of armed conflict, but it is certainly not peace.
I may disagree with Obama's decision on Afghanistan. I do not think what he did surprised the Nobel Committee - I believe they were fully aware of his intent towards Afghanistan, which he had made clear during the campaign.
What I do not doubt is the man's commitment to move towards real peace. He has spoken of nuclear weapons. He has spoken of global climate change. He reminds us of the dangers of religious intolerance, of severe economic inequity. All of these represent threats to peace.
Barack Obama is not merely our President. He is, whether or not we like it, a symbol for the entire world. He represents the hopes of billions, those who know that without the commitment of the US true global peace is not possible. He has moral authority, not merely because he is not George Bush, and certainly not merely because he is the first American President who is of color, and thus visibly different than his predecessors.
We often react in terms of our perceptions of America, and what we think should be happening here. And yet we cannot solve our problems in isolation from the rest of the world. We are, and will remain, intimately connected. It is not merely that we have troops stationed in almost 200 nations, in part because other nations want the security the US presence provides. Nor is it just that we have economic interests that bind us to so many places around the world. We are so diverse as a nation that any conflict or crisis in the world will connect intimately with people here - it will be their ancestral land, involve their relatives, or their co-religionists.
King understood that the award was not just to him, but to something larger. He told his audience
Today I come to Oslo as a trustee, inspired and with renewed dedication to humanity. I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood. I say I come as a trustee, for in the depths of my heart I am aware that this prize is much more than an honor to me personally.
And he concluded his remarks like this:
I think Alfred Nobel would know what I mean when I say that I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owners -- all those to whom beauty is truth and truth beauty -- and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.
Above I gave you the penultimate paragraph of the President's remarks. Let me repeat them, but put them in the somewhat broader context of the conclusion of his speech, a conclusion in which he consciously associates himeself with remarks made 35 years earlier, and which also inform us of his understanding of the task that still remains for us all:
As Dr. King said at this occasion so many years ago, "I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the 'isness' of man's present condition makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal 'oughtness' that forever confronts him."
Let us reach for the world that ought to be -- that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls. (Applause.)
Somewhere today, in the here and now, in the world as it is, a soldier sees he's outgunned, but stands firm to keep the peace. Somewhere today, in this world, a young protestor awaits the brutality of her government, but has the courage to march on. Somewhere today, a mother facing punishing poverty still takes the time to teach her child, scrapes together what few coins she has to send that child to school -- because she believes that a cruel world still has a place for that child's dreams.
Let us live by their example. We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice. We can admit the intractability of deprivation, and still strive for dignity. Clear-eyed, we can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace. We can do that -- for that is the story of human progress; that's the hope of all the world; and at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth.
We recognize the work that is still before us, but like Dr. King, reject despair, and continue the struggle.
that must be our work here on Earth - not just the responsibility of our President, but of all of us.
There is a song that many may know. The key text is like this:
Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.
If we truly want peace, we must dedicate ourselves, not give up hope, affirm any movement we see in that direction, open doors for those who fear movement towards peace.
at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth
December 10, 1948 - through the General Assembly the Global Community espoused a belief in human dignity for all
December 10. 1964 - Dr. King used words from the Civil Rights movement to offer us hope: I still believe that we shall overcome.
December 10, 2009 - President Obama restated for us the ideals of the previous December 10ths: For peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.
December 10 was truly an appropriate day for Barack Hussein Obama to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
And it is with pride in our President, this truly globally inspiring leader, that I end with my usual conclusion.
Peace.