Should The Bicycle Win the Next Nobel Peace Prize?
Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela—according to two Italian radio hosts, that two-wheeled machine you can’t stop riding would fit right in with these venerated Nobel Peace Prize winners.
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Although the accolade has only been awarded to people and organizations since it was first given in 1901, Massimo Cirrus and Sara Zambotti of the Rai Radio 2 network think the bicycle is this year’s most deserving candidate, and have started the Bike the Nobel petition to promote the issue. After all, when was the last time a nation went to war over bicycle fuel?
"The bicycle is an instrument of peace," they write on the blog for their program, Caterpillar. "It's the most democratic means of transportation for all mankind; it does not cause wars and pollution; and it decreases car accidents."
They also add that the bicycle removes distances between peoples, helps children develop, and has been used to aid the liberation movements and resistance of many countries—for example, Gino Bartali, who used his bicycle to transport false documents that rescued 800 Jewish people from the Nazis.
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The two Caterpillar hosts invite all their listeners and bicycle supporters from around the world to sign the petition to Bike the Nobel. Once they’ve collected as many signatures as they can, they plan to deliver the candidacy to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo in February 2016 by bike relay. You can sign the petition or learn more about it here.
“Peace is the most important award,” the petition’s authors say. “Alfred Nobel went to the notary by bicycle. The bicycle makes us all the best men.”
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