Nobel effort

Think about it — one shiny prize, one jaunt to Oslo, a few minutes of teary acceptance and bam! I’m on my way to greatness and a place in the annals of history.

Certainly there will be detractors, those who think the Nobel Prize was established to reward and honor the rare few who’ve actually reached their goals, who’ve realized their potential or more likely soared right past it. Those are the naysayers who probably only think the John Nashes and Gabriel Garcia Marquezes of the world are worthy to call themselves Nobel Peace Prize winners. Those are the ones who raised their eyebrows and tsk-tsked when Al Gore laid claim to the peace prize for his work with global warming. As if saving the Earth from aerosol hairspray and Styrofoam hamburger containers isn’t peaceworthy. Too bad Mother Teresa hadn’t thrown over the poor of Calcutta in favor of recycling cans and saving the polar bears — she could have received her prize that much earlier.

In fact, think of all the things Mother Teresa and Al Gore and every other Nobel Peace Prize recipient would have accomplished had they just received the honor a tad earlier in their lives and callings. With that in mind, it is no wonder president Barack Obama joined the esteemed ranks of Nobel Peace Prize winners — he needs ample time to follow through on the promises of his administration. If the selection committee waits until Obama actually completes the task, he’s like to be closing in on Jimmy Carter territory. Celebrated? Yes. Attractive and still able to sell news magazine covers? Not so much.

Again, it’s all about potential. And, the best way to keep one’s eye on the prize is to actually have it in hand. Otherwise, it is too easy to forget about being the best, making a difference. It’s too easy to accept a Little League trophy for participation without wanting to be honored for actually making the home run.

Perhaps then, not only should I get a prize but everybody should. They can be handed out to babies alongside Social Security cards and birth certificates. If a newborn isn’t full of nothing but pure potential, nobody is. If the tyke hasn’t brought peace to the Middle East, reconfigured the Big Bang theory or written an earth-shattering tome by the time they reach a particular age, the prize will be revoked. That has got to be a stronger impetus for action than the current method. Nobody’s yanking back Obama’s prize if he doesn’t make good on all the hopes and dreams invested in him by millions. He can resign, move to the country and prop his ankles up on the porch ledge with a cold beer and nobody can ever say he is not a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

For that matter, why limit the Nobel Peace Prize to the current serious categories of economics and physics? Not only are a number of other lauded competitions adding categories — the Academy Awards expanded the Best Picture field to 10 films and the Olympics are perpetually changing the list of sporting events to conform to popular whim — but if the modern award is truly little more an incentive it can be used to spur so many other outcomes. Drivers who merge properly. Moviegoers who turn off their cell phones. Elected politicians who keep their campaign vows or even manage to avoid rude outbursts during presidential speeches. Teachers who don’t behave inappropriately with students. Telemarketers who don’t call during the dinner hour. Teenagers who manage to graduate without a drug problem or their own Nobel Peace Prize-earning baby. These groups probably have the potential to be polite, to follow rules, to not annoy. The problem is they just need a little push.

Maybe I’ll take a cue from Mother Teresa and volunteer to provide that well-intended shove.

It will be a Nobel effort.

Michelle Durand’s column "Off the Beat” runs every Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.