“Peace cannot be maintained in the less-developed world...by self-centered preoccupation with our own problems and safety, or by reliance primarily on force of arms. We cannot police the world. But we can begin to liberate it from despair and fear and anger by making economic development and mutual service the hard core of our foreign policy, and of our national defense!”
Our Quote of the Week reminds us that we cannot keep the peace by focusing solely on ourselves, nor can we do so by using force. We reflect on these words today, March 21, as we mark the 64th anniversary of Sargent Shriver becoming the first Director of the Peace Corps.
Sargent Shriver begins his 1986 Speech at the National Conference of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and Staff with an intriguing statement:
“Mine is an impossible task, to describe the challenge facing the Peace Corps is to describe the most profound problems facing the entire world, and the problems within each one of us which prevent us from fulfilling our potential to overcome those problems. In a mere speech, I am not able to fulfill an assignment of that magnitude.”
These words hint at the principles on which the Peace Corps was built: service, openness, and community-building, which can serve as a road map for building and maintaining peace everywhere, and by everyone.
Shriver reminds us of the ideal in which the Peace Corps was rooted at its start:
“We were dedicated thus to the pursuit of peace -- which means we oppose the idea that war is inevitable!”
For Shriver, the key to pursuing peace lies in serving others. Through service, one can not only be of benefit to others, but also learn about the world and expand one’s own horizons:
“The Peace Corps seeks peace through service, not through economic strength or military power. Service is the heart and soul and substance of the Peace Corps. Service is a discredited word these days. Who wants to be a servant? No one! Service implies servitude, failure to achieve even equality, let alone dominion. Yet the Peace Corps exists to serve, to help, to care, for our fellow human beings. It works its magic from below, not from above. It concentrates on basics - food, health, education, community development. [...] Peace Corps Volunteers come home realizing that there are billions of human beings not enraptured by our pretensions, or practices, or morals.”
As we reflect on these words today, may we take with us the notion that the principles on which the Peace Corps was built — service, openness, and community-building — can allow us to maintain peace everywhere. If we ignore this notion, we do so at our peril.
Like this quote? Read the speech and subscribe to receive our Quote of the Week by email.
