I find myself in the difficult position of arguing that President Obama both deserves and doesn’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize – I understand the argument that everyone has been making that the President hasn’t really accomplished as much as President that other Presidents did when they were given the prize; that Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Carter all got the prize years (and in poor Carter’s case, decades) after being in the office, and his accomplishments hardly compare to some of the epic challenges that historical figures like Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. faced.

But all of that misses the point. The Nobel Prize isn’t a comparative thing, it’s not something you’re awarded when you reach a certain level that everyone else has already attained, and it’s not some kind of race that involves getting to a certain point before your accomplishments have been recognized. Additionally, the people crowing about whether or not he’s accomplished enough as President completely ignore his history, his story, his rise to fame and power, and everything he managed to do not just as President, but as candidate Obama, and as citizen Obama before that.

His campaign alone managed to energize and unify the American people unlike any other political activity in the past generation, his work prior as a lawyer, constitutional scholar, and community advocate, made a world of difference to his community. His work as State Senator and finally Senator in Congress was of immense value to his state and the people he served at home. I really don’t want to turn this piece into a blow-by-blow of Obama’s accomplishments and achievements, for that you can go read his Wikipedia entry, or pick up either of his books to read more about what he’s managed to accomplish over his time.

But here’s the point: not only has the man already managed to accomplish more than any politician has managed to do ever both at home and abroad in terms of unifying people around the world in the goal, hope, and desire for peace and justice, he’s managed to inspire people around the globe to activism in their communities and to support their dreams and goals for a better society, whether they agree with him or not. Never in a generation and never since a time of war have the nations of the world rallied to the side of the United States in the cause of peace and a brighter future for our global community.

I heard some excellent commentary on the news today from a very wise listener who pointed out that we don’t see anyone regularly challenge to whom the Physics prize is awarded or to whom the Economics prize is awarded, or to whom the Chemistry prize is awarded, or to whom the Literature prize is awarded, from their armchairs, as though they’re more qualified than the Swedish Academy. If people are so concerned with and believe so strongly that he didn’t deserve the prize, I think they should match wits against the academy. Oh, they won’t? Of course not – that would require having a spine to back up your assertions.

Obama has a hard road in making those dreams anything like reality and accomplishing any of those lofty, heavy-handed goals, but the fact that he’s made them look reasonable and possible, and the fact that he’s managed to align so many people in so many places in support of them is itself more than remarkable. If anything, he has been a unifying figure both abroad and at home, something that in and of itself given the state of the world before he took the stage, is deserving of accolades. That is an accomplishment worthy of praise.