“Why is it that countries which we call strong are so powerful in creating wars but are so weak in bringing peace? Why is it that giving guns is so easy, but giving books is so hard?”
This is from the Nobel peace prize acceptance speech of Malala Yousafzai. While we do not agree with the Guardian-UK that this is “a searing attack” on the bellicose regimes, the subjects of her criticism must have winced at her selection for this loathsome honorific. Who indeed could she be speaking of but the US, UK, other NATO nations, & Israel? She certainly wasn’t referring to Cuba that sends doctors to fight epidemics, unlike the US & UK that send troops or Israel shamed into some supplies.
Young Malala didn’t deserve this prize because it puts her in the company of monsters like Kissinger & an entire roster of war criminals including Barack Obama. Let’s hope she takes the money & runs, that she charts an independent course from the handlers grooming her to serve power & not justice, & that she truly becomes an outspoken opponent of wars.
“Searing” criticisms are when you name names, denounce in detail & not just abstractly, & dissociate from creeps like Modi of India, Obama of the US, & other dignitaries of neoliberal decay. We look forward to that development in young Malala & think she’s got it in her. Every indication is that her spirit is stronger than the blandishments offered to corrupt her. Many people are just not for sale.