It's a shame that politics went into selecting this year's Nobel Peace Prize. It should go to people who have succesfully dedicated their lives to bringing peace to the World. Even if it's on a small scale. Greg Mortenson is just such a person.
The bookies put the odds at 20 to 1 for Greg Mortenson to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but on Saturday — the day after the Nobel committee bestowed the world's highest humanitarian honor on President Barack Obama — it was clear many St. Louisans had their hearts set on the big guy from Montana.
"He should've gotten it," said Alison Gonzalez of Creve Coeur. "It would have been so much more meaningful."
Mortenson, a once aimless mountaineer and Army medic who found his life's work in the wilderness of Pakistan, visited the St. Louis area this week, speaking about his efforts to build schools for girls. On Saturday he gave the keynote talk at the Big Read book festival outside Clayton High School, where his arrival was greeted by a cheering crowd.
Mortenson became a humanitarian celebrity with his book "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time," which has spent 140 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. The book chronicles his life, from his childhood in Tanzania to his first shoestring attempts to build a school in Pakistan and beyond.
Mortenson's story, which emphasizes the importance of building human relationships with the Muslim world, is now required reading at many U.S. schools as well as for top military commanders.
"Politics will never bring peace," Mortenson told the crowd. "People will bring peace.
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