Gore for President?

So the headlines blare "Al Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize".

I must admit, my initial reaction was "huh?". I always associated the Nobel to people like Ghandi (even though he never won it but certainly is the embodiment of it), Mandela or Martin Luthur King; people who stood up to oppression by peaceful means and inspired others to do the same. As I thought about it more and more I realized that Gore does deserve to win the award. I even debated my friend Siu in New York via Skype about this. I think the spirit of this award should include the person who made accomplishments that furthers the betterment of mankind, and I think Gore did that this past year.

I watched his movie "Inconvenient Truth" last year. Even though I am not a scientist, I am a bit of a science enthusiast. After watching the movie, I realized that some of his assertions are going to be a bit controversial since it was not proven entirely, such as some of the associations between global catastrophes to global warming.

When such a high profile politician makes such a splash in Hollywood there are going to be suspicions that he could be doing it for his own political gain.

For the many who criticize Gore and the movie about these things are missing the point about the importance of this movie. What this movie has done is heighten the awareness of this very important issue from just the science enthusiasts like me to the mainstream. When the dialog about this topic reaches the mainstream that is when important things can be done.

Many of Gore's supporters are now calling on him to run for President so he can "save the world". I think that is a mistake. The reason Gore was able to go on this crusade was precisely because he was not as intimately involved in national politics after his defeat in the 2000 Presidential election. He was able to extricate himself from the world where votes could be bought, where one's beliefs are compromised in the effort to appeal to more voters. This is a place where you don't necessarily do what is right, but what will appeal to the masses.

Now the he has won the Nobel Peace Prize, there is no doubt that Gore has become the undisputed leader in this cause and he can do far more good by staying out of the mainstream politics. He will now be an even more powerful voice for the environmentalism movement.