Excerpts from President Obama’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo today:
Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:
I receive this honour with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations – that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.
And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labours on the world stage…
