PrintOctober 13, 2009
Honored, Humbled but Unsure?
President Barack Obama, upon hearing that he had won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, responded by saying he was both "honored and humbled." He then went on to tell reporters in the White House Rose Garden that he, "...wasn't sure he had done enough to earn the award, or deserved to be in the company of the transformative figures who had won it before him." Barack Obama's uncertainty as to whether he earned the prize indicated that in his own mind, there was a possibility he might have.
A humble person exudes a consciousness of personal defects and shortcomings and isn't unsure or deceived about the extent of accomplishments or stature. Authentic humility is in fact, truth about strengths, which Barack Obama over exaggerates and weaknesses, which he refuses to acknowledge.
Humility is a character trait that is oftentimes misunderstood to be something it is not. A truly humble person lacks pride and esteems others as more important. These are qualities that are absent in a President who squandered the opportunity to respectfully decline the peace prize and request it be given to someone who earned it like, "... jailed Chinese dissident Hu Jia, Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba who has campaigned for a peaceful solution to the almost 50-year-old conflict in her country, and Afghan doctor and women's rights activist Sima Samar."
Obama has successfully maneuvered himself into the most powerful position of leadership in the world deficient in credentials and experience. If a resume submission were required to be considered for the job of President, Barack Obama would have been laughed out of consideration. Yet, an electorate intrigued by inexperienced star power elected him. Obama should consider the analogy that just because someone with a bad heart thinks a Starbucks barrister can do open-heart surgery doesn't mean the espresso machine operator should grab the scalpel. If he does, it is more his fault than the ignorant person laying on the counter presenting themselves for a surgical procedure.
Yet, Obama remains as deluded about himself as the people who elected him, probably more. Did he ever consider, as an inexperienced State Senator, that running for President of the United States may be premature goal or was he merely just a tad, "...unsure as whether he had done enough?" Obama presenting himself as a candidate in the first place indicated, that in spite of his lack of experience, he stunningly viewed himself deserving to be in the company of the historical figures who held the office prior to him.
Failure to vocalize discontent about a situation is equivalent to an affirmation. Almost daily Obama is presented with opportunities to correct his public and international perception -- from the Nobel Peace Prize commission to elementary school children singing praises to him like he's god. The deafening silence on Obama's part indicates his concurrence with worldwide opinion that he merits positions of power and undeserved honors.
Take for instance the controversial Youtube video of New Jersey school children singing praises to Barack Obama with lyrics similar to Jesus Loves the Little Children, saying "Mmmm, mmm mm, Barack Obama, He said red, yellow, black or white. All are equal in his sight" -- mimicking the original version, which then says, "Jesus loves the little children of the world!"
One has to wonder, is the President also "humbled and honored" by their charming song? Is Obama uncertain he has done enough to earn this type of adulation, or uncomfortable being referred to by children in a hymn usually directed toward Jesus Christ? Once again his silence on the subject begs the question as to whether Obama's hubris prevents him from recognizing the inappropriate nature of indoctrinating small children.
A deceptively self-effacing Obama won a prestigious award for accomplishments in world peace, but failed to convincingly address the unmerited nature of the award. But then again, this is the same Barack Obama who exploited speechifying as a prerequisite to running the free world, allows praise from impressionable school children and views himself a deliverer capable of leading the captives into Promised Land of public options. Humility may be a word in the Obama lexicon but is not a character trait that is attributable to how he comports himself.
Regardless of what he says, Obama's attitude is the essence of what Paul the Apostle warned about when he said, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment" (Romans 12:3). As a fascinated international community lies on the counter for the guy serving coffee to split their sternum Obama, refusing to reject the accolades or unwarranted trust, and thinking more highly of himself than he ought, grabs the sternal retractor from behind the counter and steps forward.
Obama's perception of his own praiseworthiness has degraded the Office of President and now demeaned the significance of the Nobel Peace Prize for former winners, as well as those who legitimately earn the prize in the future. Moreover, the President's refusal to correct the outrageous expectations, praise and reward system he is the benefactor of on behalf of an infatuated public, is indicative of Obama's overly inflated view of himself.
Obama cannot be "...unsure" and humble at the same time. More than the global throngs that venerate him, a "humbled" Barack Obama remains firmly convinced that he is the most deserving recipient of any honor or office the world is foolish enough to bestow on him. His statement that he "...wasn't sure he had done enough to earn the award, or deserved to be in the company of the transformative figures who had won it before him," revealed Barack Obama anything but humble or unsure.
Author's content: jeannie-ology.com
