And the winner is...

What is it that compels winners of awards to launch into spirited political tirades during their acceptance speeches?

As described in this article, the Nobel literature laureate Harold Pinter took the time to thank the Nobel people for giving him a chance to vent his political feelings that have very little to do with literature. He flat out accuses America and Britain for crime. As if it's our fault the deaths in Iraq occurred. According to Pinter, we invaded Iraq without precedent, and brought all the death and destruction ourselves. Heaven forbid he agree that Saddam and his regime was anything but a bunch of helpless little lambs who wouldn't hurt a fly. I got news for you, Pinter. The Baathist party would string you up by your nostrils and whip you senseless if you even said derogatory things to Saddam. Under his dictatorship, you didn't have the right to say what was truly on your mind. He basically says that the U.S. and "Big Corporations" are the cause of poverty, death, and the lack of free education, and those countries who sought the opposite of these things were just Communists, or at least were seen as such. Oh yes, Pinter, you're on to something here. Bring down the U.S., charge us for warcrimes, let the U.N. dictate how our foreign policy should be conducted. Sorry pal, but it will never happen. You seem to think that the U.S. wants the world to be in poverty and us to be its leader. Whatever. In fact, about 95% of his speech was all accusations of death and torture at the hands of the U.S. And let me tell you, it was looooong. It must have lasted several hours. He seems to know a great deal about all these world events, what with being an old playwright and all.

Stick to what you do. Write literature. Write plays. Make the world a better place through the use of literature, take the prize money and promote literacy, learning, peace. Leave the political tirades to Sean Penn.