This kind of thing is one of the many reasons I like Barack Obama as a person. I do. I’ve studied up on him and read a couple of his books and a lot of the things he does and the way he thinks of the world and of human beings and many of the things he believes strongly resonate with me.

Many people are claiming that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize simply for not being George W. Bush. To be fair, it would be completely hypocritical to deny the truth of this, at least to some degree. However, this isn’t something that should reflect poorly on Obama, as many are implying it does because he “ain’t done nothin’ yet” and simply won it, as right-wing wit Erick Erickson from RedState.org expressed it, as an “affirmative action quota.”

As far as I’m concerned, such a lens is badly skewed. When you step back and rationally regard those two presidents, those two human beings, whatever part Obama’s not being George W. Bush played in the final decision by the Nobel committee in awarding the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize is not a denigration of the prize itself or an indictment of Obama but rather a devastating, profound statement on exactly how deep the incredible damage our 43rd president wreaked upon the entirety of humanity ran.

Are there other people who deserve the Nobel Peace Prize far more for what they are actually doing in the world? This is such an obvious truth that why it’s even brought up as an argument is beyond me. Of course there are. It’s probably safe to say that every single one of the candidates deserved the Nobel Peace Prize more than Obama did, if you look at it from the perspective of worthy action and not simply words and ideas.

That being said, I’m very proud of and happy for Barack Obama for his win. As my president and fellow countryman I am proud of the way he comports himself and of the many things he has done so far in his life of service and dedication to his fellow humans. I, for one, believe him when he says he will work to deserve the honour of winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I have no doubts that someday, he will deserve it for his deeds as well as for his words and ideas.

However, the main complaint regarding the Nobel panel’s decision is over the fact that they awarded the Peace Prize to someone who has not, by his own admission, achieved anything of substance yet. Detractors claim with some truth that traditionally it has usually been actions and not words that have merited the award, which comes not just with the honours of being a recipient in and of itself but with a substantial monetary prize that provides often badly-needed funds to recipients, most of whom put it to good use in furthering their specific cause.

So if we’re talking about action then I’d be a hypocrite myself if I didn’t agree that no, Barack Obama does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. I have to admit that I’ll be far, far prouder and happier that Barack Obama is my president when he starts doing things, such as putting the public option for healthcare not just back on the table but reintroducing it as flatly nonnegotiable, and when he starts doing things like finally moving forward on various gay rights issues, making gay marriage legal, repealing DOMA and DADT and so forth.

Frankly, it’s astounding that he hasn’t done these things yet. I was and am willing to give him time and I recognize the immensity of the mess he voluntarily inherited, but it shouldn’t have taken this much time now for real action on such agendas as gay rights, and there are still no signs of his moving on it, either.

I’ll be a lot more satisfied when the bailout moves beyond Wall Street shrubs and hedges to Main Street roots and soil, when he starts helping people he knows for a fact are the ones in real life-and-death need of assistance. I want to see him start holding the leaders of big corporate accountable for the escalating abuses they perpetrate. I want to see an end to “too big to fail.”

I want to see him start reforming our government, rooting out corruption, holding elected officials who act like schoolyard thugs accountable for their reprehensible behaviour, and this includes forcing Bush 43 and Dick Cheney and their criminal cohorts to face justice. I don’t care what side of the aisle they’re on, I want to see corrupt politicians punished in meaningful ways. I’d like to see some real forward movement on the environmental front, ecological and conservation initiatives put into place to save our atmosphere, our water, our wild places. I could go on and on.

Barack Obama has already put some important legislation into play and made some important decisions, but not enough and he’s taking far too long to see the forest for the trees. People are hurting. Every aspect of life is hurting in this country for 99 percent of the living things who inhabit it.

So from the street level I have to say that big business can go bugger itself off a cliff for all I care and so can the Nobel Peace Prize – I want to see my president do what he promised he would do. I want to see him making the change I voted for. I want to see him start actually helping the country as a whole, not just big corporate.

I want the everyday, ordinary people to get some assistance, some help. The majority of his promises, some of which he could absolutely have kept by now, are one by one falling to the wayside. For most of the really big issues, yes, he needs a LOT more time. But for many of the smaller things, too much time has gone by for him to have not made changes by now. He has shown that in the face of strong opposition within his own government, he instantly, shockingly capitulates.

I still have great hopes in Barack Obama. I believe in him. Right now, though, he has displayed a marked lack of action and I’m starting to get worried about what the next round of elections will hold in store because of it, and all the ideals in the world will not change that without action being taken that will prevent it.

There’s still time for him to stand up and at long last accept the fact that this insanely marginalized and extremist GOP will never, ever, ever willingly work with him in any way. There is still time to move swiftly past them and actually get some things done with or without them, but he has to act now. He has to act. He has to do. He has to move.

However, I would argue that while yes, actions do speak much louder than words and words without eventual action mean little, it’s vitally important that we remember that it is frequently words and ideas that ultimately motivate people to action in the first place. Often, no action can occur without the right words being spoken at the right times.

The Nobel committee, in explaining their decision, said, “Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.”

Let’s ask the glaring question: Why has this man been so ineffective in so many areas when he has in all the other aspects of his life achieved such impossible goals? Why now, when it is most important, does he seem to be falling down on the job? I don’t believe it’s because he doesn’t have the capacity and I don’t believe that he lied to achieve his goals. These are nonsensical notions. The man has literally spent his life in service to others. For him to make that radical an about-face flies in the face of every single fact about the guy. It’s the last thing I’d believe about him.

The reality is that really, the only significant character flaw Barack Obama possesses is that he’s so focused on equality and bipartisanship, that reasonableness and cooperation are so ingrained in him, he can’t seem to comprehend he will never achieve it or that some people really are completely immune to being decent human beings.

I will never forget what the world felt like between 4 November 2008 and 20 January 2009. The change in the air was profound. The change on the planet was profound. It was very, very similar to the way the world felt to me in the three or four days after the events of September 11, 2001 unfolded, but where that was the most somber and wretched of times, the period between the 2008 U.S. presidential election and the 2009 presidential inauguration was utterly joyous.

The way Barack Obama changed the world just by standing up, just by communicating with others, just by expressing his visions of the future of not just his own country but the world at large, is something I had never before experienced in my lifetime. I drank it in like I’d never drunk anything before. It’s a time and a living, pulsing passion whose end I never wanted to see; it was wrenchingly poignant because I knew it was inevitable that it would end far too soon.

For myself, I do think that actions are almost always more significant than words, but I also deeply believe that the right words, spoken at the right moments – the way Obama’s were – can literally shake the world. He did exactly that. The planet glowed with hope and people everywhere – everywhere - were united in the spirit of hope and peace and community.

His impact was vast and his words, those glorious words, resounded from the highest skyscrapers to the lowliest villages. That is a rare and wondrous and shining achievement, and other factors, whatever they may be, should not detract from our recognition of that, most especially since this is a genuinely good man. There are no atrocities to have to somehow look beyond, there is no guilt involved in having to temporarily turn a blind eye to monstrosities he has perpetrated, because these things do not exist. Barack Obama, whatever else he may be, is a good man, and he has dedicated his life to making the entire world a better place for everyone who lives in it.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot since the prize was awarded and absorbing the world’s various reactions to it. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that it may actually be more important than anything else to make sure that we do, in fact, stop in our tracks and focus sharply and with great reverence on the moments like these which occur in human history precisely because they are so rare, because they do move the world so, because they do inspire people to strive to achieve those ideals, and because the promise and desire such moments hold are truly our only hope for survival as a species.

What makes Obama’s words so remarkable is that they enflamed the hearts of so many people from every conceivable walk of life, all of whom were revealed to hold deeply in themselves the same passions, the same desires, the same dreams: equality, peace, and freedom. This is what Barack Obama’s words achieved – a global, simultaneous insight that laid bare the fact that fundamentally, we’re really not so different after all. That we have to join together to defeat those who would keep and worsen the status quo.

We need to learn how to get along. We really, really do. This man? He’s all about that. That’s who he is. That’s the essence of his humanity. The fact that his tolerance, his willingness to cooperate and compromise, his inability to believe that people can be that inhumane and selfish and uncaring about the entire rest of the world are attributes widely considered to be his greatest failings as an effective politician doesn’t speak badly of him, but of everybody else.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee saw this, recognized this, and chose to celebrate him. After slowly grinding my own cerebral wheels for a while, I have to say that I agree with them. I am grateful for their acumen, especially since it’s apparent that much of the rest of the world lacks it, thereby proving that we have a long, long road ahead of us as a species.

For his words and his ideals and for generating a mighty resonance so palpable that you could taste it on your tongue, something so extraordinarily rarely felt on such a scale, Barack Obama is really the only choice for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize that makes sense. I can think of nobody else who has had the kind of impact he’s had during the same time period. Whether or not he can deliver these heartfelt, soul-fed passions to fruition is another thing entirely, but the principles, the ethics, the values, the integrity, the credo, the chorus – they must be recognized. Not to do so would be a monstrous disservice to the spirit of humanity as a whole.

Some folks continue to cry “BUZZKILL!” and “KILLJOY!” when they are reminded of what this day really represents. I dont care. What this day really represents is lies, thievery, rape, enslavement, and, finally, the widespread genocide of the peoples who called this country home for centuries before we ever got here. To this day they are outcasts on their own land, suffering more than any other people have suffered on this soil. This is the meaning of this day.

The settlers who came to Plymouth plotted against them on this day all those many years ago, to get the Indians out of their way so they could have the bounty of this land for themselves. They took all the Indians had to offer – gifts and hospitality without which they never would have survived – and in return for this kindness and generosity they butchered the Indians, men, women, and children, and enslaved the ones they did not slaughter. The Indians were rounded up and forcibly removed from the lands they had inhabited for generation upon generation and corralled into tiny areas which we, the usurpers, generously told them they could have as long as we didnt change our minds about wanting it. This land was often land that nobody else wanted or could use; useless for agriculture, often without water and with very poor hunting.

Today is the National Day of Mourning for the native peoples of this land, and while I hope that those of you who will be gathering with your family enjoy your day, I entreat you to spare a thought to the real meaning of this day. As you say your grace of thanks over your tables, remind those who are gathered of the people who have nothing to be thankful for, and at whose expense this day comes, and has come for nearly half a thousand years. They paid for your food and your football games and your gatherings and special shopping deals with their lands, their families, their blood, and their lives.

They still walk among us, these people. And they watch us on this day, and on Columbus Day, and they know that they will never be understood by the majority of people who grow impatient and frustrated and hostile when confronted by reminders such as these. I have chosen to stand with them and risk the annoyance of my fellow citizens, because I cannot do otherwise and still live with myself. I cannot partake of the celebratory meal without the stories and the history reverberating through my mind, causing the bile to rise and the food to stick in my throat.

Give thanks for what you have, and give thanks too that you have never had to pay for anything in your life the way they have had to pay for everything in your life.

So, happy Thanksgiving, folks. Enjoy your meals, your gatherings, and your holiday – and it is yours alone. It’s certainly not theirs, and it’s not mine, either.

Text of Wampsutta’s 1970 speech:

“I speak to you as a man — a Wampanoag Man. I am a proud man, proud of my ancestry, my accomplishments won by a strict parental direction (“You must succeed – your face is a different color in this small Cape Cod community!”). I am a product of poverty and discrimination from these two social and economic diseases. I, and my brothers and sisters, have painfully overcome, and to some extent we have earned the respect of our community. We are Indians first – but we are termed “good citizens.” Sometimes we are arrogant but only because society has pressured us to be so.

“It is with mixed emotion that I stand here to share my thoughts. This is a time of celebration for you – celebrating an anniversary of a beginning for the white man in America. A time of looking back, of reflection. It is with a heavy heart that I look back upon what happened to my People.

“Even before the Pilgrims landed it was common practice for explorers to capture Indians, take them to Europe and sell them as slaves for 220 shillings apiece. The Pilgrims had hardly explored the shores of Cape Cod for four days before they had robbed the graves of my ancestors and stolen their corn and beans. Mourt’s Relation describes a searching party of sixteen men. Mourt goes on to say that this party took as much of the Indians’ winter provisions as they were able to carry.

“Massasoit, the great Sachem of the Wampanoag, knew these facts, yet he and his People welcomed and befriended the settlers of the Plymouth Plantation. Perhaps he did this because his Tribe had been depleted by an epidemic. Or his knowledge of the harsh oncoming winter was the reason for his peaceful acceptance of these acts. This action by Massasoit was perhaps our biggest mistake. We, the Wampanoag, welcomed you, the white man, with open arms, little knowing that it was the beginning of the end; that before 50 years were to pass, the Wampanoag would no longer be a free people.

What happened in those short 50 years? What has happened in the last 300 years? History gives us facts and there were atrocities; there were broken promises – and most of these centered around land ownership. Among ourselves we understood that there were boundaries, but never before had we had to deal with fences and stone walls. But the white man had a need to prove his worth by the amount of land that he owned. Only ten years later, when the Puritans came, they treated the Wampanoag with even less kindness in converting the souls of the so-called “savages.” Although the Puritans were harsh to members of their own society, the Indian was pressed between stone slabs and hanged as quickly as any other “witch.”

“And so down through the years there is record after record of Indian lands taken and, in token, reservations set up for him upon which to live. The Indian, having been stripped of his power, could only stand by and watch while the white man took his land and used it for his personal gain. This the Indian could not understand; for to him, land was survival, to farm, to hunt, to be enjoyed. It was not to be abused. We see incident after incident, where the white man sought to tame the “savage” and convert him to the Christian ways of life. The early Pilgrim settlers led the Indian to believe that if he did not behave, they would dig up the ground and unleash the great epidemic again.

“The white man used the Indian’s nautical skills and abilities. They let him be only a seaman — but never a captain. Time and time again, in the white man’s society, we Indians have been termed “low man on the totem pole.”

“Has the Wampanoag really disappeared? There is still an aura of mystery. We know there was an epidemic that took many Indian lives – some Wampanoags moved west and joined the Cherokee and Cheyenne. They were forced to move. Some even went north to Canada! Many Wampanoag put aside their Indian heritage and accepted the white man’s way for their own survival. There are some Wampanoag who do not wish it known they are Indian for social or economic reasons.

“What happened to those Wampanoags who chose to remain and live among the early settlers? What kind of existence did they live as “civilized” people? True, living was not as complex as life today, but they dealt with the confusion and the change. Honesty, trust, concern, pride, and politics wove themselves in and out of their [the Wampanoags'] daily living. Hence, he was termed crafty, cunning, rapacious, and dirty.

“History wants us to believe that the Indian was a savage, illiterate, uncivilized animal. A history that was written by an organized, disciplined people, to expose us as an unorganized and undisciplined entity. Two distinctly different cultures met. One thought they must control life; the other believed life was to be enjoyed, because nature decreed it. Let us remember, the Indian is and was just as human as the white man. The Indian feels pain, gets hurt, and becomes defensive, has dreams, bears tragedy and failure, suffers from loneliness, needs to cry as well as laugh. He, too, is often misunderstood.

“The white man in the presence of the Indian is still mystified by his uncanny ability to make him feel uncomfortable. This may be the image the white man has created of the Indian; his “savageness” has boomeranged and isn’t a mystery; it is fear; fear of the Indian’s temperament!

“High on a hill, overlooking the famed Plymouth Rock, stands the statue of our great Sachem, Massasoit. Massasoit has stood there many years in silence. We the descendants of this great Sachem have been a silent people. The necessity of making a living in this materialistic society of the white man caused us to be silent. Today, I and many of my people are choosing to face the truth. We ARE Indians!

“Although time has drained our culture, and our language is almost extinct, we the Wampanoags still walk the lands of Massachusetts. We may be fragmented, we may be confused. Many years have passed since we have been a people together. Our lands were invaded. We fought as hard to keep our land as you the whites did to take our land away from us. We were conquered, we became the American prisoners of war in many cases, and wards of the United States Government, until only recently.

“Our spirit refuses to die. Yesterday we walked the woodland paths and sandy trails. Today we must walk the macadam highways and roads. We are uniting We’re standing not in our wigwams but in your concrete tent. We stand tall and proud, and before too many moons pass we’ll right the wrongs we have allowed to happen to us.

“We forfeited our country. Our lands have fallen into the hands of the aggressor. We have allowed the white man to keep us on our knees. What has happened cannot be changed, but today we must work towards a more humane America, a more Indian America, where men and nature once again are important; where the Indian values of honor, truth, and brotherhood prevail.

“You the white man are celebrating an anniversary. We the Wampanoags will help you celebrate in the concept of a beginning. It was the beginning of a new life for the Pilgrims. Now, 350 years later it is a beginning of a new determination for the original American: the American Indian.

“There are some factors concerning the Wampanoags and other Indians across this vast nation. We now have 350 years of experience living amongst the white man. We can now speak his language. We can now think as a white man thinks. We can now compete with him for the top jobs. We’re being heard; we are now being listened to. The important point is that along with these necessities of everyday living, we still have the spirit, we still have the unique culture, we still have the will and, most important of all, the determination to remain as Indians. We are determined, and our presence here this evening is living testimony that this is only the beginning of the American Indian, particularly the Wampanoag, to regain the position in this country that is rightfully ours.”

http://www.nativevillage.org/Inspiration-/Thanksgiving%20The%20National%20Day%20of%20Mourning.htm

A Marine was recently discharged from the service for tossing a puppy over a cliff while someone videotaped him. That little nugget ended up on YouTube. You could hear the puppy yelping as he went over. The Marine was laughing, even as his fellow Marines chastised him for doing it. I’m sure he’s not laughing now, but I can assure you he’s not crying as hard as I want him to be.

I want to know what in the fuck is wrong with people who will do this. It’s bad enough that these creatures never did a fucking thing to you. These are babies. They are utterly defenseless. They offer no threat of any kind, no resistance, they are literally no match for you. What the fuck is wrong with you? What the fuck are you thinking?

I tell you what. These people are fucking lucky as shit that I’m not a superhero. They’re lucky, but I think I might have a goddamn stroke.

Edit: And while I normally take the side of non-humans over humans, to be fair, I wanted to include this gem I discovered this morning while wrapping up a hearing I was working on: a 27-year-old man stomped a one or two-year-old toddler to death by the side of a highway in California on Saturday night. Several passers-by pulled over and tried to stop this man, and the cops had a chopper in the area, swung by, saw what this man was doing, and landed in the field next to the road. The officer was on the ground for less than two minutes, they say, before he made the decision to shoot this man because nothing would stop him from stomping this toddler to death.

They shot and killed him, but it was too late for the baby. Witnesses say that before the police got there, the man declared the child had “demons” in him, and though they tried, they couldn’t even pull him off the boy. Nothing would stop him from punching and stomping the kid to death by the side of the road. The police think they know who he is, but the beating caused so much damage they say it’s impossible to get a visual ID. Apparently, there was blood all over the cab of the pickup truck as well as all over the man himself and on the highway. I guess he sure did get those demons. More than he bargained for, maybe. Either way, not enough of them.

Gore shares Nobel Peace Prize with U.N. panel – CNN.com