Watchman Award Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias) Receives the Nobel Peace Prize

Five prizes are awarded by the Nobel committees each year, and probably the most memorable is the Nobel Peace Prize. Although the selection is sometimes controversial, the committee has specific directions from the founder himself regarding the quality of person he wished to receive this award. In devising how the specific prizes should be awarded, Nobel wrote specific language regarding each category. For the Nobel Peace Prize he said he wanted it to go "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses" (The Nobel Peace Prize). Thus, it is no wonder that the Peace Prize committee has awarded the prize to the man who is most responsible for the eradication of hostilities between the Soviet Union and the United States, and secured the peace for all nations. Since there has been an outcry from disloyal elements in society regarding the awarding of this prestigious prize, this paper is designed to inform naysayers about the prize itself, the arguments against his being awarded the prize, and the qualifications of Adrian Veidt to be awarded the prize.

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to many different people who were thought, at the time to be unworthy of it. Menachem Begin and Anwar al-Sadat were the leaders in Israel and Egypt respectively in 1978 when they were awarded the prize. They were the leaders of a group of people who had been fighting for thousands of years, but they met at Camp David with United States president Jimmy Carter to try and come to a deal. At the time, the selection was very controversial in some parts of the world, but they were praised in the award ceremony speech given by committee member Aase Lionaes. He submitted that the prize had never had more deserving recipients because of they had reached an agreement the like of which had not been signed in more than 3,000 years by the two governments (The Nobel Peace Prize 1978). This is a perfect example of the ability of the Peace Prize committee to look past the petty jealousies of people around the world, and choose who they deem is the best candidate.

During the selection process, hundreds of names are selected, and through a tested process eliminated until the perfect candidate is found. The first step the committee takes is to send out letters to people who are eligible to nominate someone. When they get those letters back, on or before February first, they pare the possible candidates down to a short list of possible recipients. This short list then gets an advisors review before the laureate is selected in October. In December of every year, a banquet and awards presentation is convened to honor the different people who will receive awards (The Nobel Peace Prize). This selection process has stayed the same for more than a century now.

People have been spreading lies about Adrian Veidt for many years; assuming that his actions to stop the impending war between the United States and the Soviet Union were reckless and unjustified. All one has to do is look at the history of the cold war to see that this is ridiculous, but the hostilities at the time merited heroic action. People are often stamped as villains despite the selfless, heroic acts that they perform to prove otherwise. Ozyandias was found to be the person who sent a biological drone with telepathic powers to New City. Of course the drone then exploded in a psychic shock wave that killed millions (Comic Vine). There also seems to be an issue with the way that Adrian Veidt gathered scientists around him, thus corrupting them. Veidt is called many foul names which do not show the true character of the man. He may have fought with his true compatriots, but it was not out of spite but of charity.

Since Veidt has been continuously defamed in the press, it is necessary to clear his name with the true accounts of what actually happened. Adrian Veidt's idea, the entire time that he was planning the destruction of New York, was to save the whole of humanity from the dangers of nuclear war. The governments of both the United States and the Soviet Union had built enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world many times over. They had actually increased the number of weapons in the time that Ozymandias spent building the drone, contrary to what they had promised the people of earth. That is the crux of the matter, the people with the power had failed the people they were supposed to govern. Government is supposed to be for the people as many writers (Lincoln,...

But the United States, a government that was founded on those principles was conducting an arms race that went against those foundational principles. Of course, the Soviets did not adhere to those principles (they were a tyrannical form), but they only increased the amount of weapons because the United States had begun the race. The evil that the governments of those two countries had planned was much worse than anything Veidt had planned.
Some argue that his original deception showed that his motive was not peaceful. Instead of the two countries disarming, the belief that an alien race was targeting the earth made them plan to produce even greater weapons. The fact that they were now working together was the whole point. With the United States and the Soviet Union working as one against a common and very dangerous enemy, the world would be safe from the destructive power of the proliferation (Comic Vine). Thus, the deception was warranted in the end.

The final issue that many have with Veidt is that he killed several of his trusted compatriots while launching his plan. It must be understood that Ozymandias considers them soldiers just like the millions that lost their lives in New York. These soldiers were doing a noble work because they did not understand the philanthropic work that was being done. They did not have the capacity for reason which is Ozymandias' gift. He would have rather worked with his friends to produce the desired effect, but he realized that there misplaced sense of right and wrong would cause them to try and stop his brilliant plan. Only Veidt could coldly reason, and determine a solution that was able to save the most lives possible.

The award that Adrian Veidt received is not "laughable" as some would suggest. He is not a villain, monster, or any of the other words that have been used to describe in the past few years. He was the only person who was able to conceive of a plan that would save the world. As stated before, the Nobel Peace Prize is given to a person who brings people together, looks to dismantle standing armies and works for the process of peace as his or her highest goal (The Noble Peace Prize). It may seem like skewed logic to many, but Ozymandias is incapable of skewing his perfected logic. He thought through the situation, determined the solution most likely to result in peace, and he carried out that plan regardless of any personal preference he had that would lead him away from such a horrible decision. More than any person who has ever received the award, Adrian Veidt, Ozymandias, has proven that he deserves it.

Works Cited

Comic Vine. "Ozymandias," 2011. http://www.comicvine.com/ozymandias/29-43221/

"The Nobel Peace Prize." Nobelprize.org. 12 Dec, 2011 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/

"The Nobel Peace Prize 1978 - Presentation Speech." Nobelprize.org. 12 Dec 2011 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1978/press.html

Appendix

Nomination and Selection of Peace Prize Laureates

Every year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee sends out thousands of letters inviting qualified people to submit their nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. The names of the nominees and other information about the nominations cannot be revealed until 50 years later.

Process of Nomination and Selection

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for the selection of eligible candidates and the choice of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. The Committee is composed of five members appointed by the Storting (Norwegian parliament). The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway, not in Stockholm, Sweden, where the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and the Economics Prize are awarded.

Who is eligible for the Prize

The candidates eligible for the Nobel Peace Prize are those nominated by qualified individuals. See Qualified Nominators. -- No one can nominate him- or herself.

How are the Nobel Laureates selected?

Below is a brief description of the process involved in selecting the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

September -- Invitation letters are sent out. The Nobel Committee sends out invitation letters to individuals qualified to nominate -- members of national assemblies, governments, and international courts of law; university chancellors, professors of social science, history, philosophy, law and theology; leaders of peace research institutes and institutes of foreign affairs; previous Nobel Peace Prize Laureates; board…