Right from the title of the article, the author clearly brings out the sarcasm and depicts how much he values the award itself. The fact that the award stands to commemorate peace but is given to a person for having gone to war seems to convey enough regarding its worth and intent. Started by Qiao Damo and others as a competition to the Nobel Peace Prize, it has brought out nothing more than the shameful side of China. While the first winner failed to even turn up to receive the award, it wouldn’t be surprising if Putin did the same. An unheard of award with its intentions clearly gone wrong is all that Putin needs right now.
It is a very perceptive comment to recognise the irony in the title as setting the tone for the author's attitude throughout the article. However, you do seem to agree with the author's general skepticism toward the award as you point out the no-show of the first recipient.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the irony of the Peace Prize being given to a person gone to war. Even their defense of Putin being against the NATO bombing is weak, because the very fact that he went to war already contradicts the essence of peace.
ReplyDeleteTrue, it seems like the award committee itself is in a mess, but I beg to differ about bringing out the shameful side of China. A small group of people is too minor to speak for the country's reputation.
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ReplyDeleteMay I ask a question!
ReplyDeleteWhy would you say that this seemingly dubious award will be 'all that Putin needs right now'?
I seem to sense sarcasm in that statement, in that you believe that the receipt of this award will cause more harm than good to him.
Hmm, would I be correct to interpret it this way, and if yes, why do you think that this award is harmful?
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I do agree with you that the author started his sarcasm by giving the title of "...decision to go to war..." but it seems to me that the fundamental definition of peace is not clearly there. Can deciding on a war to have greater peace, be peace?
ReplyDelete@Ms. Coleen: Yes I do seem quite skeptical about the award. To me this whole award ceremony seems like a farce.
ReplyDelete@Lydia: Hehe sorry for being so judgmental about China. But as mentioned by Joo Fei in his blog, certain posts about China, the general indifference and seeing how China bans every possible Western influence (the ban on facebook, youtube, the chinese singing talent show etc.) have inclined me to think this way :P
@Peien: I didn't mean to say that it would cause harm. Rather I meant that given the current political turmoil, this award is not what Putin needs at the moment. Also, given the fact that the award itself has been discussed in bad light, it would seem more like a discredit to him.
@Joo Fei: Hehe good point there! But if you really want good for this world, then stay good..you dont have to get bad. :D This is what I feel. It's probably the Gandhian values I've imbibed from being brought up in India :D
Hi sreshta, I completely agree with your view on the title of the article! The author doesn't take this award seriously and he shows that by stating how the award is accepted on behalf of some irrelevant party.
ReplyDelete@Joo Fei: I thought about your question too when I was reading through the article, but it seems to me that waging war in the name of peace will indadvertedly still bring harm to innocent people. haha to me this is just a bunch of people who wants attention from the media
This is a lively debate, because there are two sides to looking at both the content and the style choices of the author. Regarding the content, we are looking at the question of whether it is ever justified to wage a war to achieve a better world (peace). This is a fundamentally divisive question that people have debated for centuries. If you do believe that sometimes violence is justified (in order to fight against fascism, for instance), ideology kicks in. One will, of course, feel one's own values are worth fighting for, and therefore some wars are justified and others not. Let's not forget that Obama received a Peace Prize when his country had invaded Iraq (and had a history of destablizing many other countries in the name of fighting for democracy). It's complicated!
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