Is Peace Becoming More Popular?

From the first People’s Summit for Departments of Peace and the Arrowhead Declaration by Liberian RPCVs, to the proposals of the World Service Corps, there is a momentum for peace and justice. This groundswell of energy and movement throughout the world for governments to organize around principles of nonviolent transformation may well be a formidable force if more and more people join to show their support.

21^st Century World Service Corps legislation needed this year

Today the growing Ugly American image, terrorist recruitment, and income disparity makes the need for Peace Corps, Americorps, Habitat, and other service even more pressing. To consider helping implement a visionary approach to addressing critical problems at home and abroad, please visit www.WorldServiceCorps.us, where you can sign the on-line Petition to rekindle Kennedy’s vision and do more, if you choose.

Under the citizen-initiated World Service Corps (WSC) proposals, if enacted this year, each year for the next seven years approximately 140,000 Americans would voluntarily choose to serve in their choice of the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity, Head Start, Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, OxFam, Mercy Corps, State Conservation Corps, etc. By the seventh year one million World Service Corps members, or .6^th of 1% of Americans aged 20-60, would be annually serving at home or abroad for at least the ensuing 20 years, whereupon Congress could consider sun-setting the WSC legislation.

The financial incentives required of this proposed legislation are less than 1/6^th those offered our military volunteers and would have beneficial educational and economic effects on America’s working classes. Upon service completion, volunteers would receive their choice of:

· Two years of community plus two years of state college tuition, approximately $15,000.

· Equivalent educational loan pay off or contribution to community educational scholarship fund.

· Equivalent investment in Medical or IRA Accounts.

All of the above would be transferable to relatives. With the influx of the young, baby boomers, and career breakers, the participating non-governmental and governmental organizations would competently handle the increase of Americans into their organizations and more quickly improve the world.

The WSC is not a new costly bureaucracy. It is a small office that funnels America’s best resources – can-do Americans – into effective, existing organizations. It will create a productive 21^st century Special Corps to augment our 1.4 million military. It will lessen our military’s burden by doing the nation building with which they are too often overburdened.

What the WSC would do

Implementing the WSC strengthens America by:

· Raising America’s political IQ, thereby allowing us to implement smarter, less costly world policies.

· Winning international hearts and minds.

· Improving living conditions at home and abroad.

· Providing a first hand education in the global village’s workings via the world’s classroom

· Meshing opportunity and responsibility between WSC volunteers and those with whom they serve.

· Building an army of can-do Americans to handle hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters.

· Strengthening national pride and cohesion, and it does this without,

· Creating a new bureaucracy, but instead by strengthening existing governmental and non-governmental agencies with patriotic Americans.

You can read the legislation, print coverage, Comcast news telecasts, sign the Petition, gain support resolutions, and help at www.worldservicecorps.us.

Contributed by Dwayne Hunn, India RPCV