“We were dedicated to the pursuit of peace - - we opposed the idea that war is inevitable. We believed that ... we could rid the world of war!”
Our Quote of the Week makes the case that a mind shift away from the idea that war is inevitable and towards a pursuit of peace is the first step towards eliminating violent conflict.
In Sargent Shriver’s “A Celebration of South Africa” speech, given in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Chapel at Morehouse College in 1998, he vividly recalls the beginning of the Peace Corps, highlighting the fact that there was no way to know at the time whether it was an idea that could work or that people would embrace. He says:
”... we started the Peace Corps without knowing whether anybody in the world wanted it. President Kennedy gave us the inspiration! But we had no market research department, and no one to explain what the Peace Corps was all about, except ourselves. So we did it ourselves.
Six of us travelled to our potential customers — nations of Africa, Asia, South America and the Pacific. We made deals with them for future delivery of volunteers — persons whom none of us had ever seen!
The host countries gambled with us!”
He also points out that inside the country, there was resistance to the Peace Corps from both the left and the right—a conundrum he was often faced with while he was working in politics. He continues:
“Conservatives opposed the word ‘Peace’! They maintained it sounded wishy-washy, vague, and weak. The Communists, they said, had corrupted the word ‘Peace’ by applying it to every political initiative, and even to every war they got involved in.
The left wing disliked the word ‘Corps’! They said it sounded militaristic.”
Navigating these unknowns and opposing forces with openness, enthusiasm, and assertiveness, Shriver managed to get host countries interested the initiative, place Volunteers on the ground, and importantly, get the legislation for the Peace Corps passed in Congress, all in a matter of six months. It was a daunting undertaking, all in the pursuit of peace.
May we learn from this chapter of Sargent Shriver’s life today, and pursue peace in our homes, our families, own communities. If we all committed to doing this, we could truly rid the world of war.
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