“What our nation needs now is a Call to Peace and to Service ... on a scale we have scarcely begun to imagine. Let us unleash the power of young people in all nations to see the world for what it is now, and then go out to change it for the better. Let’s join in common cause with all countries to eradicate poverty and militarism.”
Our Quote of the Week provides an example of the kind of thinking that motivated Sargent Shriver’s greatest accomplishments. From the creation of the Peace Corps to the War on Poverty, Sargent Shriver studied complex, contemporary international and domestic issues -- diplomacy, peacebuilding, poverty, discrimination, lack of economic opportunity -- and created institutions that could tackle these issues in one community at a time. He also relied on the energy of young people to help him fulfill his vision, speaking to hundreds of thousands of students in public addresses throughout the course of his career. The speech we’ve chosen for this week’s quote, the Address at the Yale University’s Daily News Annual Banquet, is one of hundreds of examples of such an address.
Let’s follow Sarge’s example. Let’s encourage the momentum we’re seeing today among the young and the young at heart who are working to create a more peaceful, prosperous society for all of us. Let’s empower the high school students demanding an end to gun violence; the Peace Corps volunteers and Community Action workers and all volunteers building up communities in the US and internationally; the political leaders and aspiring leaders who are working to create safer, more prosperous neighborhoods. Let’s empower them and each other so that we may create a more secure future for all of us.
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