REPOSTED FROM THE UK TELEGRAPH BLOG
I am ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Irena Sendler, whose obituary appeared in this morning’s paper. Hers is an awesomely humbling story, even by the standards of her heroic generation.
Irena Sendler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
A Polish Catholic, she spirited some 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto, displaying casual and extraordinary courage. She kept a list of the children she had saved, hoping one day to reunite them with their parents – although, in the event, almost all lost their families in Treblinka. In 1943, she was arrested by the Gestapo and tortured. Her legs and feet were broken, but she refused to give up her list. She was sentenced to death, but rescued, whereupon – almost unbelievably – she went back to work.
Here, though, is the sentence that leapt off the page at me: “Last year she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, eventually won by Al Gore.” Al Gore! I mean, nothing against the old lardbutt – it’s nice to see ex-politicians doing something they believe in rather than giving themselves over wholly to the getting of personal wealth – but making a film is not the same thing as donning a yellow star and smuggling babies past enemy soldiers.
Our generation, as Danny Kruger put it in the best tract of 2007, is moralistic rather than moral. We are better at holding opinions about what governments or multi-nationals should do than we are at doing the right thing by our neighbours. Having formed our opinions, we become self-righteous in a way that the Irena Sendlers of the world couldn’t understand.
“We who were rescuing children are not some kind of heroes”, she said towards the end of her life. “That term irritates me greatly. The opposite is true – I continue to have qualms of conscience that I did so little. I could have done more. This regret will follow me to my death.” There is a haunting sincerity to that statement. You can’t imagine Al Gore saying any such thing, can you?
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..any excuse to get an “Al Gore is fat” post up. This site jumped the shark eons ago.
REPLY: What a narrow (and completely wrong) view you have. You completely ignore the fact that Gore’s film has errors, exaggerations, and is self serving promotion because he’s heading up a carbon trading scheme with an investment firm.
This brave lady stood up to Gestapo, got her legs broken, and saved 2500 children from certain death. Al flies around in a private jet, spews propaganda, and collects huge speaking fees not to mention huge sums on carbon trading.
Yeah sure, “its all about him being fat”.
Yes, I saw this story too and had much the same feelings about it as Anthony, but expressed them somewhat more forcefully! Who judges these awards?
A outstanding candidate for the Nobel, but remember that she only save 2500 innocent children. The latest data (also known as computer model WAGs by non-climate scientists) show Al Gore will save millions.
Anthony Watts criticizing Gore becasue his film has “errors, exaggerations, and is self serving promotion”. And they say irony is dead, LOL.
REPLY: Well unlike you, I’m not an academic coward spewing criticism while hiding behind a Winnebago. See here’s the thing: your opinion is that form is worthless.
If you don’t like what I have to say, or repost from news articles, nobody’s forcing you to visit here. I suspect that it’s mainly just so you have an opportunity to taunt that you don’t get in the University environment.
Can I just say to those who have left the comments on Irena Sendler that they should also read up on Pearl Cornioley. She was an astounding woman, who sadly died in February this year. Her amazing explots during WW2 were completely breath-taking. As a man I have to say she would put me to shame in a death-defying situation.
On behalf of the Lake, the County, and the Ho-Chunk Nation I would like to appologize for the fact that Winnebago is clearly without a clue and to assure everyone that he represents none of the afore mentioned Winnebagos.
Al Gore is a pathological liar. An Inconvenient Truth contains almost nothing that is true. Which speaks volumes about the desperation of the Warmers.
Before the Nobel Prize in Science is awarded, the discovery being honored must be proven to be valuable and important. Recipients may wait a decade or more before being awarded.
But the Nobel Peace Prize is just awarded according to the whims of the day. How many Peace Prizes have been awarded for Middle East Peace? We haven’t seen any real peace in that part of the world since… since maybe the Ottoman Empire ruled it.
What would it take to change the criteria for the Noble Peace Prize? Let’s have a 5 to 10 year wait before awarding the prize. That would really help to make the prize legitimate again.
Thanks for bringing her story to my attention.
Hers is a humbling story.
I wish Mr Gore would revisit Oslo on the 17th of May, the Norwegian National Day.
Because if he did he would get a chilly reception.
The day is expected to be the coldest National Day in over 50 years.
It is even possible that capital will get snow.
Al “the debate is over” Gore is nothing but a professional liar, hypocrite, and fraud, and makes big money from it. His movie, Inconvenient Truth is just so much rubbish-laden bilgewater. The British high court found nine major errors in Gore’s film and wrote that some of Gore’s claims had arisen “in the context of alarmism and exaggeration,” a kind way of saying “he lied”. This from a judge who believes in man-made warming! History will not treat him kindly. Will he ever hang his head in shame? I doubt it, but you never know, maybe the lardbutt will.
I wonder what these children, who were unselfishly saved, think today about Ms Sendler getting beat out by a guy who got a Nobel Prize prize for nothing more than making a political propoganda film based on phoney climate science.
Al Gore’s follower’s even exploit the tragedy of the Holocaust by calling people with differing opinions “deniers”. One zealot even demanded Nuremburg type trials for people who commit the crime of disagreeing with their AGW doctrine. This is what really gnaws me inside. All the while, these guys spend their time flying around in private jets and consuming enough energy to power a small town.
Yeah, I’ve heard about her. She started out by smuggling food and supplies into the Warsaw ghetto. She then smuggled kids out through the sewers. Parents asked if she could guarantee their kids’ safety. All she could do was guarantee they’d die if they stayed.
She gave the kids fake names. But because some of them would be too young to remember she saved their real names in bottles buried in her garden in hopes they could be reunited with their families. They were recovered after the war (most of the families, of course, had perished).
In her last years she finally got recognition. Some school kids had found out about her story about ten years back and wrote a play about her. As a result, she got the thanks of the world (and the nursing care she needed).
[…] was originally in The Telegraph and reposted at Watts Up With That where it came to my […]
If Al Gore had any sense of shame at all, he wouldn’t have done the asinine movie.
Ms. Sendler’s deeds took a form of courage rarely seen which of course could not be appreciated by the Nobel committee, since the concept of bravery and honor is unknown to them.
Just shows that there is a difference between:
Doing good to do good (Irena Sendler)
and
Doing good to do well (Al Gore)
The Nobel committee have ignored this difference, because their aim was not to reward “doing good” but to further their own political agenda.
Corruption and cynicism at its worst.
[…] A must read! Jump to Comments http://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/i-hope-al-gore-is-hanging-his-head/ […]
The true heroes of this world very seldom receive the recognition they deserve until some time after their deaths. While those that make millions off those of us that must survive daily by their creative methods of dealing with our economic system are often deemed heroes while they are in the process of life. It is after the death that the true investigations detect the true heroes and heroines. Ms. Sendler has her reward and recognition. I have no doubt that she is a Christian and her God has given her the reward she has earned. Al Gore will one day have to consider what his reward will be and what the world will think about him after he is gone from here.
Thank you Anthony for a wonderful post.
Bill Derryberry
I understand your feelings on the matter, but Gore didn’t force anyone to select him for the reward over other nominees. I don’t feel that one action is more valiant or should be deemed more important than another.
The Nobel prize is normally rewarded for scientific discoveries and advancements. On that basis alone, Gore was every bit as eligible as anyone else. Global warming is not phony climate science. There are many scientists who have been trying for years and years to show the world many of the things that Gore’s movie highlighted. No, he was not the first to discover global warming or speak of its effects on our planet, but he certainly has been an outspoken advocate for environmental affairs. He is doing something not to further his own wealth, but to help us catch and hopefully reverse some of the negative things we have done to the Earth. This will benefit us, our children, and many more to come for as long as the world is in existence.
Is that not something worth recognizing also?
I absolutely believe that Irena deserves recognition for the selfless things she did during such a horrible time. But perhaps not recognition that is normally reserved for scientific advancement. If there is something like the Purple Heart or another prestigious award that can be given, it absolutely should. Even a monument, or holiday. But her actions don’t make anyone else’s less important, less selfless or less remarkable.
They both deserve recognition in my eyes!
-PA27
topedcmentor:
With all due respect, Gore had no business receiving the Peace Prize. Either he and merited a science prize or he did not.
If there were any truth in it, sure.
Gore’s Global Warming IS phony climate science. None of his major points are supported by scientific evidence.
No personal gain?? Why does he charge 100k per speaking engagement instead of just his travel expenses? Why does he use a private jet instead of the transportation the rest of us use? Why does he expect all of us to make sacrifices while he gets richer and richer doing all the things he rails against? He is the definition of hypocrisy.
You are just Grandstanding on this issue! Other wise why single out Al Gore? I seem to remember Henry Kissinger getting a Nobel peace prize too.
Since the second world war, the Nobel peace prize was not awarded in 1948, 1956, and 1967. Why not argue that she should have had it then? It could have even been backdated to 1948 which would have been the closest year to Irena’s heroics. Why not argue for that?
Gore won’t lose any sleep at night if he heard about this. He knows AGW is phony. It’s just a means to an end – and that end will be taxable.
Why should anybody believe this story of Irena Sendler, and at the same time reject AGW? Has anybody compared the quality of the proofs in both cases?