January 29, 2002 - Exclusive PCOL Report: Founding Director Sargent Shriver gives speech at US Peace Corps Headquarters

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By Admin1 (admin) on Tuesday, January 29, 2002 - 8:59 pm: Edit Post

Founding Director Sargent Shriver gives speech at US Peace Corps Headquarters






Read and comment on the speech given by Founding Director Sargent Shriver at US Peace Corps Headquarters today. Director Shriver made many of the same points that he made at his speech at Yale University in November which you can read at:

Sargent Shriver's Speech at Yale University*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Founding Director Sargent Shriver gives speech at US Peace Corps Headquarters

Founding Director Sargent Shriver was a guest at the US Peace Corps Headquarters today and gave a speech at the Directors Forum before a packed audience of about 200 Peace Corps staffers. Director Shriver was introduced by Lloyd Pierson who has been acting Director of the Peace Corps since October 1. Newly confirmed Deputy Director Jody Olsen was present at the speech. Gaddi Vasquez who was confirmed as Director last Friday has not yet arrived in Washington and so was unable to attend.

Director Shriver said that we had done the impossible 40 years ago when we concieved of the Peace Corps and made it happen. He said that our one mistake that we did not go far enough - we did not dream big enough. He admonished Peace Corps staffers to go the rest of the way starting with a fuller vision - where there is a will there is a way. He said that we have one more opportunity to straighten out the world.

He asked the question - who are we? Our vision is the basic goodness of all human beings, yet in our short existence on this earth, we must bequeath a stark choice to future generations: peace or death - survival requires peace for all people We must develop the capacity to live together - that is the only alternative to an endless cycle of killing. Peace is more than just the absence of war, it is living together based on what we have in common - our differences matter less than our kinship. To accomplish this, we need a call to peace and service, on a scale we have only begun to imagine. We must work for all, especially the young and their hope, against poverty and militarism. This is more than the survivial of America, it is humanity, it is the planet - not just the American dream, but a universal need.

Director Shriver went on to talk about the 4th goal of the Peace Corps: to bind all humanity together in common cause to insure peace and survival for all on earth, a safe and healthy planet for all humans everywhere.

He said that we need a new Peace Corps we can believe in, exceptional people who are not afraid, who are ready to lead together. Let us be worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize, he said, with accomplishments to match our ideals. We need to start building peace, human by human and in the face of risk, we must lead by example without preaching.

He went on to say that RPCVs are uniquely equipped to accomplish these tasks, comfortable working in tough surroundings, and we need to put them in every country and asked what could a larger effort accomplish for a world dedicated to peace! This new Peace Corps would be the most effective anti-terrorist program for America and the world by contributing to the conditions for peace.

At the end of the speech Congressman and RPCV Sam Farr of California spoke about how he had served as a Peace Corps, how he had been inspired to join the Peace Corps by Sargent Shriver and how he had first met Director Shriver when he went through Peace Corps training.

Note: This story was written from notes taken by a reliable source who attended the speech. If anyone else who attended has any additions to what was said, please post them below.




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