Shattered illusions

It's funny how things take on a different significance when you're a kid. I remember thinking of some things as being really big deals. The Guinness Book of World Records, for example. I remember thinking that setting a world record meant that you had done something of significance. Later, of course, I discovered that you could pretty much declare your own category, and as long as you could convince Guinness it was worth putting in the book, it was a valid category.

It was the same thing with the Olympics. They were a pretty big deal when I was a kid, or at least it seemed that they were. But given that the Olympic committee recognizes ballroom dancing as a competitive sport, it's lost a bit of its luster. (Note that it's not an Olympic sport yet, but apparently the application hasn't yet been rejected, if Wikipedia is to be believed.

And the same with the Nobel prizes. I remember thinking that these were a really big deal. But I think they've jumped the shark. I mean, Jimmy Carter was bad enough, and appeared to be as much a dig at Bush as anything else. But at least the committee had something to point to with the whole Israel-Egypt peace thingy. (Even though his work to get North Korea to give up their nuclear ambitions came to naught.) This current recipient has done absolutely nothing that would merit a peace prize.

Thinking about it a bit more, though, I shouldn't really say that they've jumped the shark. They did that years ago. I thought they made a good choice with Muhammad Yunus. He was actually doing useful work for peace by improving the economic situation for the poor with microloans. But they jumped the shark long ago. I mean, my God, Yasser Arafat won the Noble peace prize? Not only a terrorist, but a corrupt terrorist who was funneling billions into his own accounts from aid meant for the people he was supposed to be helping.

Feh.