A girl was shot by the Taliban while promoting education for girls. A former President devoted the rest of his life to peaceful solutions for international conflicts, human rights and democracy. A woman was dedicated to bringing comfort to the poor, sick, and dying all over the world. A man brought two races together using only peace, sparking a movement that brought freedom to the suppressed. A billionaire business executive starred on a reality television show and then became a politician. What do all of these people have in common? They each have a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.
Somehow, Donald Trump, the politician star of today known for his narcissism, rude jokes and misogyny, got nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel is a distinct honor that celebrates the achievements of people who work tirelessly to bring peace to our broken world. The hall of fame of the Nobel Peace Prize includes names of people who full of compassion, love, strength, and bravery such as Malala Yousafzi, Jimmy Carter, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr. Known as one of the highest honors of our world, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to only 103 individuals since its creation in 1901. These individuals always had the utmost integrity, incredible character, beautiful soul and, most importantly, a desire to change their world for the better. Now that's changed.
Just a few days after Ted Cruz defeated America’s favorite comb-over-presidential-candidate sensation in the Iowa Caucus, it was announced that Donald Trump was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. My heart stopped. My blood may or may not have started to boil. I felt slightly faint. For me, the Nobel Peace Prize represents my favorite role models (see aforementioned). It is an award given to those who would never expect it, because they were too busy serving the world and making it a more peaceful place.
Now, however, Trump has entered the scene. Although it is not yet known who nominated him, we do know that he was nominated for “vigorous peace through strength ideology,” according to the nomination letter. Hmm. Let’s take a minute to review Trump’s past history and be awed by all of this "peace".
Let’s begin with his conduct during this presidential race. Maybe “not politically correct” would be a breath of fresh air, but Trump isn’t any kind of correct and even seems to think that simply being polite falls into the “politically correct” category.
Take a look at his many offensive comments that have sparked outrage across the globe. His impressive resume includes making fun a reporter with a disability, sending hate mail to a journalist who released a negative documentary about him, calling fellow candidate Carly Fiorina ugly, threatening to build a wall because the Mexican government is sending “rapists, murderers, and drug dealers,” promoting a ban on all Muslims attempting to enter the U.S. and calling one of America’s favorite news anchors a bimbo. He said he would “bomb the s--- out of [ISIS], even killing their families;” he openly insults the American public by saying that he could “shoot someone on 5th avenue and not lose any voters.”
However, this is just a very recent Trump over the course of his presidential campaign. I’m sure that it’s very stressful to run for president, so perhaps it has merely brought out the worst in him. Maybe he did, in fact, spend his previous life promoting a peace that is oh-so-worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. To be fair, we need to examine what he has done and who he has associated with in the past.
One of Trump's closest business partners, Tevfik Arif, was found running a high-profile prostitution ring on his yacht. Allegedly some of the girls were 16 years old or younger. Although Arif was eventually acquitted of the crime, one has to wonder if his money influenced that decision. Another one of Trump's former partners is a convicted Ecstacy dealer.
Trump's family life doesn't look much better than his business partners. Currently, he's on his third wife and reportedly cheated on the first two. This isn't shocking considering Trump is the poster child of sexism with his "Trump rule" dealing with the Miss USA pageant (of which he is co-owner), calling Rosie O'Donnel "a big, fat pig," trying to air a television show called "Lady or a Tramp," encouraging the men on the Apprentice to rate their fellow show participants according to their attractiveness, telling Esquire that it doesn't matter what the media says "as long as you have a young and beautiful piece of a--" and even sexualizing his daughter.
Corrupt business partners and sexism aside, maybe Trump spent his life working in non-profits helping homeless or something and we've just all been too distracted by all of his mean and offensive comments to notice. Oh, what's that? He actually has spent his life becoming a business mogul, making tons of money, writing books on making more money, buying everything he can, starring on his reality television show and now running for president. Nothing is wrong with any of those things, but last I checked, those aren't how one promotes peace across the world. Guess I should check up on the definition of peace.
Donald Trump can continue living in his own world where he controls everything he touches, offends everyone in his path and makes more money. I just don't want him to mess with the Nobel Peace Prize. A reality T.V. star should not be mixed with the likes of Mother Teresa. Peace is not Trump's forte; it never has been and, unless a miracle happens, it never will be. It's okay, though, Donald Trump's nomination has also led to his being compared to another person. Trump has also been noted to be similar to a man known for abundant arrogance, being shirtless and his utilitarian beliefs: Vladimir Putin. He has also been compared to another man known for murdering hundreds of people, including some family members, and working with Hitler: Joseph Stalin. That makes sense.
