It may sound questionable, when our country is dealing with an economic crisis and funding a war, to ask for an increase in Peace Corps funds. But a closer examination of what the Peace Corps has accomplished and can continue to do is apparent to why Congress should make it a priority to maintain, or better yet even increase, the number of Peace Corps volunteers.
The Lariot Online writes: Peace Corps funds should be approved by Congress
Editorial: Peace Corps funds should be approved by Congress
Oct. 15, 2008
For many students, next May will mark the end of their college careers and the start of something new. Graduates will take life's next step, whether it be starting a job, going to graduate schools, or taking a vacation. Increasingly, for some, the appeal of volunteering abroad will lead them to the Peace Corps. But little do they know, it is getting harder and harder to join.
After receiving a 37-year high in volunteer numbers, it looks as if the Peace Corps will be cutting as many as 400 volunteer positions next year. This cut is attributed to an $18 million budget shortage caused by the declining value of the dollar and the worldwide increase in food and fuel cost.
The Bush administration has requested that Congress approve their 2009 budget of $343 million for the program. This would increase the program's budget by $13 million, which is only fitting with the renewed enthusiasm about the corps. Congress has yet to pass the budget, but it should act quickly and grant this request.
It may sound questionable, when our country is dealing with an economic crisis and funding a war, to ask for an increase in Peace Corps funds. But a closer examination of what the Peace Corps has accomplished and can continue to do is apparent to why Congress should make it a priority to maintain, or better yet even increase, the number of Peace Corps volunteers.
Not only have the more than 190,000 volunteers in the program's history, including the 8,079 working this year, made a difference in the lives of people living in developing countries through training and educating them in areas to meet their needs. Peace Corps volunteers also build friendships and gain a better understanding of the area, culture and people where they live and serve during their 27 months of service.
These volunteers are acting as young American ambassadors, promoting a better understanding of Americans while abroad. Once their service is over and they return home, these volunteers can promote a better understanding of people abroad to people at home.
What is learned in a classroom or from a book comes nowhere close to what is and can be learned from complete immersion in different societies through the Peace Corps.
Having a better understanding of people from different cultures - their beliefs, their values their process of thinking - is vital in today's globalizing world.
Not only is sufficient comprehension of cultures pivotal to successful business transactions and foreign policy, but in the wake of recent events leading to America's War on Terrorism, it's obviously necessary to understand the people and world around us.
Just think about it. If the United States was more knowledgeable about Middle Eastern society, culture and history, would the events leading up to 9/11 been handled differently? Would Iraq have been handled differently?
In a mid-September 2001 interview with PBS Frontline, Porter Goss, the then chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and now a former CIA director, emphasized the urgent need for qualified personnel and analysts who are experts in the language and culture of the Middle East.
"Those people are invaluable. We have fewer and fewer of them," Goss said. "And the tragedy is we have not brought along the next generation of them."
What better way to bring in the next generation of educated and informed potential CIA personnel and analyst than supporting the mission of the Peace Corps? Peace Corps volunteers, who've lived and worked in critical areas such as the Middle East (including Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey), Africa, Russia and China, can provide the understanding that our nation seeks in times of foreign conflict.
Most importantly, Congress should approve the increase in Peace Corps funding for the sake of peace.
How many conflicts can be avoided, how many misunderstandings can be cleared and how many discriminating judgments can be erased if we could just continue to work toward a mission of cultural understanding? If we can learn from each other, maybe this cultural, geographical and economical wall can be torn down.
Tuesday marked the 48-year anniversary of John F. Kennedy's impromptu speech that inspired the establishment of the Peace Corps. The then-senator, who was three and a half weeks away from being elected president, spoke on the University of Michigan Union steps at 2 a.m. in front of a crowd of students, some whom waited for three hours to see him. He challenged students to a greater purpose. Since then, the increasing number of Peace Corps volunteers is proof that young Americans are willing to serve for peace.
Kennedy recognized the potential in young Americans to be ambassadors abroad. Congress should, too.
