State Of the Union

What? The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize?

On the surface, this may seem like the most ridiculous choice of a Nobel Peace Prize recipient since the the United Nations peacekeepers - guys with guns - won the award in 1988.  But it makes more sense than, say, Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize from 2009.  (He's still waging a war in Afghanistan, and it took him two years to end the war in Iraq.)  But despite the problems the European Union (EU) has had of late in keeping its collective economy afloat, it has succeeded in its major goal - to bring about peace, stability and prosperity to much of the continent.  When the German chancellor sets foot in Athens or Paris, it's as a visiting leader, not as a conqueror.  Indeed, the most recent example of a German invasion anywhere would be Volkswagen expanding eastward into the old Communist bloc.  (When the Berlin Wall fell, Carl Hahn, Volkswagen's chairman at the time, famously said, "The path now stretches clear to Moscow."  Not the kind of thing a German ought to say about going into Russia.) 

Even with the current unrest in Greece, the Greek people are much better off in a dysfunctional democracy than an efficient dictatorship.  Ditto the Iberian nations, Spain and Portugal, which, like Greece, were repressive countries before integrating themselves with the rest of Europe and joining the Common Market, the EU's forerunner, in the eighties.  They're freer than they used to be.  More Europeans now enjoy basic human rights - the member states have outlawed capital punishment.  And, despite the euro being in trouble, uh, check it out, dudes: The euro is still worth more than the U.S. dollar - about $1.30 at this writing.

Conservatives in Washington must be livid.  I mean, we have the insufferable Mitch McConnell chastising any American who wants to bring European-style socialism to America - I don't know whom he's talking about, it certainly can't be the President! ;-) - even though sixty years of history have proven that European socialism is a preferable system to what we have in these United States. After all, our system produced Mitch McConnell.  The right would probably love to see the 300 million people of These States get the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting democracy and economic liberty around the world.  Right.  There are a few ways this Union can ever win the Nobel Peace Prize.  First, we have to cut the gun murder rate in this country.  Secondly, we have to stop bombing Third World countries. Thirdly, we have to provide more public amenities for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves but for everyone around the world.  Fourth, we have to join the World Court.  Fifth, we have to reduce our military spending so that we don't spend more on armaments than the next nine countries put together.  Plus many other ways I can list.  Until we do any of that, I don't want to hear a peep out of the righties in this country.