Argumentative Essay Npp

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

Fire up your personal computers, the 1997 Noble Peace Prize was

primarily won by e-mail. This is at least what Mr. Thomas Friedman a New

York Times Columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning author believes. At a

luncheon address on 15 November 2000 he presented his theories of

globalization and how e-mail was a primary reason that Jody Williams won

the Noble Peace Prize in 1997. Although she did use e-mail as a tool to help

organize a global movement against the use of land mines it was only one of

several globalization and human factors that had to emerge during her

successful campaign. Is success or failure of Jody Williams and her campaign

due primarily to the globalization of communications, human factors or

both?

One factor of Jody Williams success is that she is a unique person that

was driven to organize the movement against a serious global problem. This

interest and dedication did not occur over night. In 1981 Williams was

working in Washington DC for a temporary employment agency when a

leaflet about human rights violations in El Salvador was handed to her,

sparking her interest in global activism.1 William began working on human

rights campaigns in Central America, seeking to improve the quality of life of

the region's inhabitants. After establishing herself within the human rights

community, she was approached by Bobby Miller, president of the Vietnam

Veterans of America Foundation, who wanted her to lead a global campaign

against antipersonnel landmines.2 Then in 1992 she founded the

International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), beginning an 18 year

dedication that would ultimately lead to winning the Noble Peace Prize in

1997.

A second factor was Williams' courage and determination that

ultimately proved critical to the success of the ICBL. Without her strong

character, she would not have been able to endure a grueling schedule that

included meetings with...