Cornel West on Obama, the Peace Prize and Amos

“Cornel West congratulates President Obama on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, but cautions that the honor comes with tremendous responsibility. ‘It’s going to be hard to be a war president with a Peace Prize,’ he says.”

He explicates King’s quote that peace is not the absence of conflict, rather it is the presence of justice and he briefly connects that to the book of Amos. I’d like to hear more.

So, here’s the full presentation, and Fora.tv adds that Dr. West is “one of America’s most gifted and provocative public intellectuals peels back the layers of a remarkable life.” It takes place at the Los Angeles Public Library.

Cornel West is a philosopher, author, critic, and civil rights activist. His works include The Ethical Dimensions of Marxist Thought, Race Matters, and The African-American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Century.”