Chicago RPCV Conference The second city proved it is second to none in putting on an unforgettable event for the NPCA's 2006 Returned Volunteer Conference. Read what RPCV Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Hardball had to say about his service in Swaziland and what Nobel laureate and Landmine Activist Bobby Mueller had to say about US Mideast policy. Read our coverage of the closing ceremony, the opening ceremony, our photo essay of the Flag Procession, our collection of over five hundred photos from the procession, and what VOA said about the conference. Great job, Capca!

• August 14, 2004: Headlines: COS - Swaziland: Journalism: Television: The Chris Matthews Show: Reflections on my Peace Corps experience in 1960's by Chris Matthews  Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 8:26 am [2]

What RPCV Chris Matthews had to say at the Conference



What RPCV Chris Matthews had to say at the Conference

What RPCV Chris Matthews had to say at the Conference

Speaker Chris Matthews spoke about his Peace Corps experience as a "moveable feast"

MSNBC Hardball host and Swaziland RPCV Chris Mathews spoke from the heart about his Peace Corps experience and said:

The Peace Corps - what an amazing idea. In the middle of the cold war with tanks facing each other at Checkpoint Charlie, JFK said why don't you try to do this at a human level. He was thinking "outside the box" before the expression existed.

The Peace Corps for me was a moveable feast (like Paris in the 20's for the generation after the Great War). I had 20 new impressions a day. We used to have a saying about the Peace Corps in Swaziland: "Misery loves company."

I was at home in Mozambique. I thought it was a great place to hang out. We read everything, Jung, Fitzgerald, Siddhartha. The kids used to come up to you on the street and would ask you if you knew John Wayne, if you knew Muhammad Ali, and we could argue politics on the street corner with the kids. And when I would visit a village there would always be a chair, it would always come from somewhere - that many times you would be the only white guy in the room.











Chris Matthews said that it's all about respect

He said that you've got to come to a country with some other face than the tourist or the soldier or the oil executive. And that's the Peace Corps - I like being liked in the world. That music from Peter Yarrow that was played last night - that's the 60's - that's my generation you missed.

The one thing that I learned in the Peace Corps is that it's all about respect. People want to be loved, they wanted to be respected.

When this nation was formed, we wanted respect - our flag was a picture of a snake and it said "Don't tread on me." When we got started that's what we said. And that's how people feel in the rest of the world - respect me, don't tread on me. Imagine how sensitive people are to an invasion

This talk of "evil ones" - that's baby talk.

It bugs me that I don't read more op-ed pieces in the newspapers by Peace Corps Volunteers. We shouldn't just bore our spouse to death with our Peace Corps stories. We've been there, we have something to say.

This Month's Issue: August 2004 Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and who can come up with the funniest caption for our Current Events Funny? Exclusive: Director Vasquez speaks out in an op-ed published exclusively on the web by Peace Corps Online saying the Dayton Daily News' portrayal of Peace Corps "doesn't jibe with facts." In other news, the NPCA makes the case for improving governance and explains the challenges facing the organization, RPCV Bob Shaconis says Peace Corps has been a "sacred cow", RPCV Shaun McNally picks up support for his Aug 10 primary and has a plan to win in Connecticut, and the movie "Open Water" based on the negligent deaths of two RPCVs in Australia opens August 6. Op-ed's by RPCVs: Cops of the World is not a good goal and Peace Corps must emphasize community development.