Clearly, there [...]]]> All kidding aside, the selection of President Barack Obama for the Nobel Peace Prize tells us a lot about the world we live in.  Most people agree he is not deserving of the award.  So why was he nominated just eleven days into his Presidency?  And why did he receive the award at all?

Clearly, there are others far more deserving of this prize than Obama.  The Norwegian Committee had an opportunity to highlight and bring awareness to any of a half-dozen troubled areas in this world, places not often reported on by the mainstream media.

Perhaps, giving Obama this award was their way to provide feedback to the U.S., to let us know that they approve of the weaker, more apologetic country Obama is creating.

In November 1979, 53 Americans were taken hostage in Iran.  They remained hostages for four hundred, forty-four days.  President Carter tried to rely entirely on diplomacy to achieve their release.  He, and his diplomacy, failed.  So did his ill-fated Operation Eagle Claw.  The aftermath of this disastrous operation yielded the much vaunted Seal Team Six.  And during Reagan’s Presidency, faith was restored to our military, and our enemies were not so quick to take American hostages.

It seems that the world –not just the Norwegian Committee –prefers the America under President Carter and now President Obama, an America that apologizes for its role in everything from World War II onward.  It finds the America of Ronald Regan and George W. Bush unacceptable –an America of strength and self-perseveration, which will defend itself and its citizens.

For those of us that have ever faced down the school-yard bully, or know what it is like to be held up at gunpoint with no sign of police, then you understand.  You get it.  The U.N. and other countries are not here to protect the U.S. or its people from the bullies and criminals of the world.  We have always relied entirely on our own for that.  No one will step up for us.  The world is a dangerous place, and we need to be vigilant and self-reliant at all times.

But a weaker, more deferent U.S. is far more palatable to the rest of the world.  That’s why Obama received the award.  To send us a message.

The question is, “Are we listening?”