Yeah, that makes sense. After failing to see peace by awarding the prize in the real world to their hopeful candidates, the Nobel Prize committee decided to retreat to their Disneyland make-believe world of peace that the European Union represents:
I do not think of Norwegians as sadistic people, but the Nobel judges have inflicted upon us all a huge, cruel practical joke awarding their Prize to the European Union at its lowest point since its inception — the moment at which almost every citizen of its 27 nations is asking: Where did the story go so horribly wrong?
Norway is not in the EU, so perhaps it looks better from a safe distance.
As an American, I might be forgiven for thinking the EU looks great from an even greater distance. But I have the advantage of being in the center of NATO, the real actor that kept the peace in Europe after World War II (and who defeated Nazism in Europe and kept Soviet communism out of Western Europe during that war):
There was great mirth on Friday of the “at least the Nobel committee did not give the European Union the economics prize” variety. Except that the use of the Nobel Peace Prize as a morale boost for Eurocrats struggling to contain a currency crisis is no laughing matter. It diminishes the prestige of the prize – and the achievements of those who truly deserve it.
Worse, the pretext offered, that the EU gave Europe peace, is an insult to the role of Canadians and Americans in ending centuries of European bloodshed. If there is one institution that has ensured the peace in Europe it is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
And yes, Canada deserves credit for deploying an entire well-trained heavy brigade in NATO plus aircraft, with the pledge of more to flow across the Atlantic in war. How many NATO nations can pledge a brigade of troops to any fight today?
Still, some believe that the grubby nationalistic people caused Europe's bloody history and only an empire that suppresses that hate can keep the peace. The Scots love the EU, it seems. But they want the postage stamps and titles that come with their own membership in the political wing of EuroDisney and their own little ethnic theme park.
Amazingly, given that the EU is being given credit for suppressing dangerous nationalism in Europe, Europeans are standing in line to assert their local identities:
Historic world port and fashionista capital, Antwerp has always lived on the crest of the wave. Now, a separatist party heading into municipal elections Sunday wants to use the city as a base for breaking away from Belgium — putting it at the forefront of a European breakaway trend just as the EU celebrates winning the Nobel Peace Prize for fostering continental unity.
But as I wrote about that post about postage stamp envy, this is a feature of the EU and not a bug.
So I'll ask at this point, if the European Union is so necessary to prevent war among Europeans (stop guffawing like our vice president as you ponder how that mass of civil servants in uniform would wage war on each other), why don't the Europeans have the EU apply for a UN seat while the member states give up their seats?
That would include Britain and France giving up their permanent veto-wielding seats on the Security Council in exchange for the EU getting that permanent seat for the whole lot of them.
When the French especially act like they truly believe in the EU by doing that, I'll be a little more respectful of their claims that the EU stands between Europeans and the lights going out all over Europe once again.
