by Danielle Attanasio

Created on: November 13, 2009   Last Updated: November 14, 2009

It was announced recently that Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. This was a controversial subject being discussed by many, within hours of the headline. As Alfred Nobel, the inventor of all five Nobel Prizes, said in his will: the person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize would be "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for

fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Is Barack Obama this person?

You can't deny that Obama is extremely good at what he does best. And you also can't deny that what he does best is... talk. He speaks about what should happen, but rarely gives specific details about how it's going to happen. For example, Obama has recently announced a plan to increase recycling by 30 percent by the year 2015, but never said how he expected it to be done.

Let's face it: Obama has a lot of promises right now that seem implausible for one man to follow through with. Couldn't anyone stand on a podium and tell you that it's going to be okay? Would that, in return, make it okay to give them a Nobel Peace Prize because they are excellent at entrapping you in their speeches? Hopefully your answer was no.

Let's take a look at Martin Luther King Jr., one of many Nobel Prize recipients who did much more than just tell the people he was fighting for that someday they might be able to change things. He did much more than cause people to be hopeful. Not only did he lead the civil rights movement, but he got out there and marched with the people he was fighting for.

He didn't just stand around and tell the black population what they should do, and that maybe someday they would get around to making some changes. Barack Obama has done a little more than...nothing when it comes to acting on what he preaches. (But that smile is stunning, isn't it?)

So, the real question is: Is Obama's promise for hope and a unified world enough to earn him a Nobel Peace Prize? Or could the decision be compared to nothing more than giving the same award to a doctor who says that someday there's a chance that he may find the cure for cancer?

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