Peace is the way, the only way

Editor, The Times:

On the eve of President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, I found myself wondering to whom he will donate his prize money [“Unlikely praise for Obama’s Nobel talk,” page one, Dec. 11]. He doesn’t need it, and there must be countless organizations vying for the 10 million Swedish kroner.

Perhaps in light of his commitment to sending another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, Obama could create a fund to help the families of those — both U.S. troops and Afghans — who will lose their lives as a result of his actions.

Of course, no amount of money can truly compensate those who will die —U.S. or Afghans — as a result of the hubris of misguided politicians. We can only hope that the voices for peaceful means of addressing conflict will one day soon drown out the cacophony of militarism that has led us to this tragic state.

The president might take a lesson from a previous Nobel Peace Prize winner, Martin Luther King Jr., who in 1964 was considered by the Nobel committee to be, “the first person in the Western world to have shown us that a struggle can be waged without violence.”

— Leonard Eiger, North Bend

Holding Obama to his campaign words

While President Obama is accepting the Nobel Prize for peace, this nation is committing guns, bombs and blood to combat extremism overseas at the cost of $1 million per soldier per year. A much more cost-effective measure is being overlooked: Education for All.

Globally, 75 million children could not attend elementary schools, and 255 million children could not attend secondary schools, all due to a lack of resources.

For boys, every year of education will reduce their chances to be involved in violent crimes by 20 percent. For girls, an education will double their children’s chance to survive beyond age 5.

These are the significant effects that could be achieved by education. Education of the very poor will have great impacts on family health, hunger, economic development and peace and security of all nations.

Candidate Obama had promised to contribute $2 billion to a Global Fund for Education in order to help the poor nations educate their young. This is a worthwhile investment that will pay off handsomely toward our own security, sparing the blood of our youth for years to come.

We need to hold Obama to his words.

— Terrence Dai, Seattle