“We were quite surprised.” – Sr. White House official on President Obama’s being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
I must say that I agree. Not to say he doesn’t deserve it. But that I’m surprised he got it at this point in time. I believe Barack Obama to possess incredible potential to do amazing work in this world. I think he has the capacity to bring people together in a way that not many do and he is completely unabashed about leveraging that capacity to work towards international peace and provide a stronger and safer way of life in all of our back yards.
The general consensus seems to be this is the Nobel committee’s way of encouraging him to keep doing the work that needs to be done regardless of his prior experience. Their way, perhaps, of lending him the Nobel pedigree to further embolden him to keep making strides towards realizing his vision. And that I can totally buy. Although I wonder how that makes him feel? That while enough of the world already agrees and supports the work he’s doing to get him nominated for the Nobel in the first place, they also still feel that his qualifications are lacking enough to need to borrow pedigree of any kind.
I guess the most interesting thing is that it appears that Obama’s particular vision is apparently quenching some worldwide need big enough to warrant this kind of recognition. That his vision alone is enough in the world as it is to garner this type of encouragement. Because even though I love the guy, let’s face it, there simply hasn’t been enough time yet for him to achieve much of his vision internationally (or domestically for that matter). So this award is much more of a “you go boy!” type of thing to keep him going down the path he’s laid.
All in all I think it’s a brilliant thing. Brilliant that the world is aware enough that peace is in fact what it needs. Brilliant that they recognize in this man the ability to bring us all closer to that vision. Brilliant that Obama now has one more tool to get the job done.
Showing posts with label vision. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vision. Show all posts
10/9/09
5/28/09
Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names
I had the biggest interview of my life thus far today.
I have interviewed with panels of people ranging in numbers from 1 or 2 all the way up to about 15. Huge panels of highly accomplished and immensely educated people. I have fielded questions from people twice my age and thrice my IQ. I have navigated through academic, human services, public health and grassroots vernacular. I have already held the highest post in the nonprofit realm; and before I was 30 years old.
All of that, in the context of today, was nothing. Not because I interviewed with 20 people or because they were all Nobel Laureates.
Today was so huge because this job, this particular position, is such a tremendous opportunity and would be so much fun that I’m not entirely sure something like this will come along more than once. This job would give me the opportunity to build a position from the ground up. To grow a department with an incredibly important (not to mention one that has given The Boy countless hours of joy) piece of city government.
After asking the interview committee what their vision was for this brand spanking new position, I sat and listened to them tell me all about an incredibly amorphous vision that wasn’t really a vision at all, but more like an outline for something they didn’t really know anything about but was incredibly important to them. And the fact that it is so important to them, that they are willing to take a risk and think outside the box in an effort to find new solutions to very, very old problems, really got my blood pumping.
And I gotta say that I kicked some serious ass in the interview. I answered all of their questions. I asked questions that got them thinking. I was upbeat and inventive. I was funny and smart. I kicked some serious ass. I walked out of there feeling great (other than the fact that my feet were killing me after walking the 6+ blocks from my finally found parking spot to the interview in new shoes).
Now it’s up to the fates, but I kicked some serious ass.
I have interviewed with panels of people ranging in numbers from 1 or 2 all the way up to about 15. Huge panels of highly accomplished and immensely educated people. I have fielded questions from people twice my age and thrice my IQ. I have navigated through academic, human services, public health and grassroots vernacular. I have already held the highest post in the nonprofit realm; and before I was 30 years old.
All of that, in the context of today, was nothing. Not because I interviewed with 20 people or because they were all Nobel Laureates.
Today was so huge because this job, this particular position, is such a tremendous opportunity and would be so much fun that I’m not entirely sure something like this will come along more than once. This job would give me the opportunity to build a position from the ground up. To grow a department with an incredibly important (not to mention one that has given The Boy countless hours of joy) piece of city government.
After asking the interview committee what their vision was for this brand spanking new position, I sat and listened to them tell me all about an incredibly amorphous vision that wasn’t really a vision at all, but more like an outline for something they didn’t really know anything about but was incredibly important to them. And the fact that it is so important to them, that they are willing to take a risk and think outside the box in an effort to find new solutions to very, very old problems, really got my blood pumping.
And I gotta say that I kicked some serious ass in the interview. I answered all of their questions. I asked questions that got them thinking. I was upbeat and inventive. I was funny and smart. I kicked some serious ass. I walked out of there feeling great (other than the fact that my feet were killing me after walking the 6+ blocks from my finally found parking spot to the interview in new shoes).
Now it’s up to the fates, but I kicked some serious ass.