Gore nabs Nobel for a noble cause…

Al Gore was not awarded the prize because he has necessarily made any amazing strides towards solving the problem of global warming; although raising awareness is, in itself, a huge step in the right direction. He was awarded it because, in this day and age, of petty politics, vote pandering and belligerent backstabbing, Gore has become a politician who has transcended politics and is seen as fighting for the common good. He's become the poster boy for a noble cause; for a cause that, try as some people might, cannot be questioned, sullied or minimized.

"There was a time when the Noble Peace Prize was almost the private preserve of statesmen" wrote a Gazette editorial, but who, in all honesty, merits the description of "statesman" today?

War mongerer Bush, who declares, with absolutely no sense of shame or self-awareness, that he will be "replenishing the old coffers" by giving public speeches, when his presidency comes to an end? As if I'd pay good money to listen to a man who still has trouble properly pronouncing "nuclear"!

Here in Canada, the political landscape isn't any prettier. Former Prime Ministers Chrétien and Mulroney are both acting like a couple of infantile and vindictive blowhards, writing self-serving political memoirs so they can heap insults on their former adversaries – Paul Martin and Lucien Bouchard respectively.

On the local scene, closer to home, Outremont mayor, Stephane Harbour, called it quits after it was revealed that thousands of dollars of public money was squandered on food, liquor and entertainment. What's even more nauseating is the fact that borough manager, Yves Mailhot, and his assistant, Claude Patenaude, submitted $14,667 and $18,176 in expenses respectively, when the maximum for their positions is $4,000 and $2,500. While your average Joe and Joanne are struggling to make mortgage payments and pay ever-increasing property and school taxes, elected officials are dipping into the not-so-petty cash so they can indulge their predilection for single malt scotch!

It appears that one does not need absolute power to be corrupted absolutely these days; even a modicum of privilege seems to sway certain people towards abusing the system. While writing this, the remaining four borough members in Outremont have yet to resign, claiming ignorance in the whole affair.

The public has lost faith in politicians of all stripes and colours today, and who can possibly blame them? Politics, both here and internationally, has been reduced to a series of underhanded pot-shots and counterpunches; a forum on which to administer low blows and sarcastic rebuttals. Whatever happened to the time when politicians were worth quoting?

Amidst all this questionable lack of ethics and deluded sense of purpose, Gore is a breath of fresh air; a man fighting for a noble cause and a higher purpose. And this is why he was awarded –and merits-- the Nobel Peace Prize.