Legitimate Peace Prize

In a rare turn of events, a Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to someone who actually did something to promote peace. Muhammad Yunus is a professor of economics and the founder of Grameen Bank, which makes microloans to the extremely poor in order to help them succeed.

The quickest route to peace and reduction of cultural strife (a.k.a.- crime) is the promotion of prosperity through self-reliance and self-respect. Unlike many politicians, however, Mr. Yunus understands that such a goal can only be achieved by making it possible for the poor to work their way up. Handouts (read: Western-style welfare systems) don't work and never will. If only the American leftists could understand this simple concept.

From another article:

For a man who has perhaps done more than anyone to help people out of poverty, Muhammad Yunus makes no apologies for giving nothing to beggars.

Yunus's philosophy is to help the poor to help themselves: give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but only by teaching him how to fish do you feed him for life.

So he never responds when a blind or crippled beggar or a mother cradling her baby holds out a hand for money.

"I feel bad -- sometimes I feel terrible -- that I'm denying the person. But I restrain myself. I never give them (anything)," Yunus told Reuters in a 2004 interview at Grameen's head office. "I would rather try to solve the problem than just give them a hand and take care of them for the day."

Congratulations to Mr. Yunus. It's refreshing to see the Peace Prize go to someone who really earned it.