2011.02.22: February 22, 2011: Hugh Pickens writes: 2011 is the Year Peace Corps will win the Nobel Peace Prize
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2011.02.22: February 22, 2011: Hugh Pickens writes: 2011 is the Year Peace Corps will win the Nobel Peace Prize
Hugh Pickens writes: 2011 is the Year Peace Corps will win the Nobel Peace Prize
As Jay Nordinger writes in National Review "the Norwegian Nobel Committee has given quite a few anniversary awards. In 1963, it honored the Red Cross on its hundredth anniversary. In 1969, it honored the International Labour Organization on its 50th. In 1981, it honored the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees on its 30th. In 1995, it honored anti-nuclear activists - Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences - on the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan, and the 40th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto (the grand anti-nuclear declaration of the age)." So 2011, the Peace Corps' fiftieth anniversary, will be the year that the peace corps community wins the Nobel Peace Prize. If the Peace Corps does receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011, then with Sarge gone, there is no better man than the second Director of the Peace Corps, Jack Vaughn, who at 90 years of age is still as strong and vital as ever, to accept the prize on behalf of the Staff and RPCVs of the "greatest generation" who worked in the 1960's to make the Peace Corps what it is today.
Hugh Pickens writes: 2011 is the Year Peace Corps will win the Nobel Peace Prize
2011 Will be the Year the Peace Corps wins the Nobel Peace Prize
Posted by Hugh Pickens on Tuesday, February 22nd 2011
As Jay Nordinger writes in National Review "the Norwegian Nobel Committee has given quite a few anniversary awards. In 1963, it honored the Red Cross on its hundredth anniversary. In 1969, it honored the International Labour Organization on its 50th. In 1981, it honored the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees on its 30th. In 1995, it honored anti-nuclear activists - Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences - on the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan, and the 40th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto (the grand anti-nuclear declaration of the age)." So 2011, the Peace Corps' fiftieth anniversary, will be the year that the peace corps community wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nomination
The nomination, which was due on February 1, has already been made. RPCV Congressmen Tom Petri and Sam Farr joined together to send a letter nominating the Peace Corps for the Prize and the bipartisan letter was ultimately signed by 138 members, making up more than a quarter of the House of Representatives.
"As a former volunteer, I know firsthand the important role the Peace Corps plays in assisting the people of less developed countries to get an education, improve agricultural and business practices and more," said Petri. "The heart and soul of the Peace Corps are the volunteers, mostly young, who commit themselves to service in unfamiliar cultures, far removed from many modern comforts and conveniences. Through their experiences they get as much as they give, but the challenges they face make clear that they are engaged in service to people – it's far more than just a job. The Peace Corps deserves greater recognition, especially for the service work performed by its volunteers."
As established by Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the person or entity that, "shall have done the most or then best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding of peace congresses." According to conservative commentator Nordinger "The U.S. Peace Corps meets Nobel's criterion of "fraternity between nations" very nicely. The agency has three stated goals: to help the nations served; to promote a better understanding of Americans; and to promote a better understanding, by Americans, of other peoples. Few contend that the Corps has failed in the meeting of those goals."
Bi-partisan Support
Some may think it strange that the conservative National Review is supporting the Peace Corps nomination but Jack Vaughn, the second Director of the Peace Corps, recounts an interesting anecdote from the 1960's. "It came after a senior staff meeting to which I had invited Republican senatorial icon Barry Goldwater," Vaughn wrote in an op-ed for the Tuscon Citizen in 2008. "After serious questioning on what Kennedy's new agency was all about, Arizona's Goldwater swore that the Peace Corps embodied virtually every one of the most noble aspects and values of the Republican Party."
If the Peace Corps does receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011, then with Sarge gone, there is no better man than the second Director of the Peace Corps, Jack Vaughn, who at 90 years of age is still as strong and vital as ever, to accept the prize on behalf of the Staff and RPCVs of the "greatest generation" who worked in the 1960's to make the Peace Corps what it is today.
Photos
Photo 1: The Nobel Peace Prize
Photo 2: Jack Vaughn, successor to Sargent Shriver as Director of the Peace Corps, with his wife of forty years, Chad RPCV "Leftie" Vaughn.
Vaughn directed the Peace Corps from 1966 to 1969 after stints as a professional boxer, boxing coach and U.S. Marine in World War II combat. Vaughn was also ambassador to Panama and Colombia, president of Planned Parenthood and an assistant secretary of state.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: February, 2011; Speaking Out; Awards; 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps
When this story was posted in February 2011, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers 
 | How Volunteers Remember Sarge
As the Peace Corps' Founding Director Sargent Shriver laid the foundations for the most lasting accomplishment of the Kennedy presidency. Shriver spoke to returned volunteers at the Peace Vigil at Lincoln Memorial in September, 2001 for the Peace Corps 40th. "The challenge I believe is simple - simple to express but difficult to fulfill. That challenge is expressed in these words: PCV's - stay as you are. Be servants of peace. Work at home as you have worked abroad. Humbly, persistently, intelligently. Weep with those who are sorrowful, Care for those who are sick. Serve your wives, serve your husbands, serve your families, serve your neighbors, serve your cities, serve the poor, join others who also serve," said Shriver. "Serve, Serve, Serve. That's the answer, that's the objective, that's the challenge." |
 | Support Independent Funding for the Third Goal
The Peace Corps has always neglected the third goal, allocating less than 1% of their resources to "bringing the world back home." Senator Dodd addressed this issue in the "Peace Corps for the 21st Century" bill passed by the US Senate and Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter proposed a "Peace Corps Foundation" at no cost to the US government. Both are good approaches but the recent "Comprehensive Assessment Report" didn't address the issue of independent funding for the third goal at all. |
 | Memo to Incoming Director Williams
PCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams |
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Story Source: Peace Corps Worldwide
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Speaking Out; Awards; 50th
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