The peace corps and the revolution of widening concern

Media

Part of Panorama

Title: The peace corps and the revolution of widening concern
Creator: Fuchs, Lawrence H.
Language: English
Source: Panorama XIV (5) May 1962
Rights
Fulltext: THE PEACE CORPS AND THE REVOLUTION OF WIDENING CONCERN Lawrence H. Fuchs Peace Corps Representative to the Philipines American writers and statesmen have been quick to observe dramatic mid-century changes in the attitudes of other peoples, particularly in the former colonial nations and have dubbed these “the revolution of rising expecta tions” and “the revolution of freedom.” We have not been as quick to discover and ana lyze a revolutionary, develop ment which has been fast overtaking my countrymen, a revolution of widening con cern for the welfare of all hu manity. What do I mean by the re volution of widening concern? I mean, that for certain histo rical and. sociological reasons, an increasing^ number of Am ericans are concerned with the welfare Of an increasing number oi-peeple all over the world. This concern, more over, is not just the result of fear of nuclear war or com munist success. It is not a question of what our states men are fond of calling en lightened self interest. It is not the concern of the patri cian for the less fortunate, the patronizing benevolent con cern of the well-to-do for the poor. These factors undoubt edly are present in the atti tudes of many Americans as they approach their responsi bilities in world affairs. The concern of which I speak is may 1962 33 qualitatively different from anything that has gone before in international relations. It is a genuine concern ftfr the welfare of others stemming from an ever deepening recog nition that we are na less American for being part of the family of man. To my mind there is no more significant or rousing manifestation of this revolu tion in attitudes than the Peace Corps of the United States. Let me quote from the let ters of Peace Corps volunteers in the Philippines: A girl from Negros Occiden tal writes, “I often sit down with X, Y, and Z and marvel how very lucky we are. You’ve visited our wonderful house by the sea and know what excellent living condi tions we have. Of course, there are many nights that we have no water and others THOUGHTS ON THE . . . material welfare, paying scant attention, if any at all, to what may happen to our land and people. We realize the disadvan tages of ultra-nationalism. We are convinced that the foreign capitalist could help us; but let us not forget that he could also hurt us. He could be a benefactor when in the pur suit of his enterprise he obwhen the electricity goes off, but the good parts far out weigh the bad. The people have been grand to us... They bend over backwards to be kind to us and ask for no thing in return but a smile, a friendly word, or our friend ship. For example, Y decided to build a chicken coop. Soon after she mentioned it for the first time, a load of bamboo was deposited in our yard and a carpenter appeared. We con vinced him that we weren’t too crazy in that we ourselves, wanted to do the actual work. The principal, mayor and others offered to pay the car penter, but we said it wasn’t the money we were thinking of, but the fact we wanted to do the work. Finally, when Y did begin splitting the bam boo, choosing a site, and build ing her now famous coop, se veral neighbors came to help. We don’t like to appear un(Continued from page 32) serves our laws, assumes social responsibilities, and shares with us justly the pro ceeds he derives from his ven ture. But he could-be our worst enemy when disguising himself as a friend he follows a career of illegal exploitation of the economic opportunities that he meets within our shores. He could thus become an undesirable example to 34 Panorama grateful but we want them to know we aren’t afraid of hard work and don’t place our selves on a pedestal above them. “We’ve been concentrating mainly in English, as the children need to get used to our speech patterns, intona tions, and pronunciation be fore they can possibly grasp scientific concepts. As it is, I’m quite busy with my seven fourth grade classes and some teaching in grades three, five and six. I work mostly with three fourth grade rooms and once a week visit the other rooms.” From Sorsogon another girl writes, “Bulusan is a beauti ful fishing village—the ocean is minutes away — really per fect. Our house is right on the river and we have the most terrific view from our kitchen window — women beating their clothes and kids many of our people who are just beginning to realize the numerous possibilities of im proving their material condi tion. When we condemn selfish aliens in our country we should not forget that in many cases they are not operating alone. Some of our country men may be their partners or allies. They give them aid bathing. I have taken many pictures of the same scene to send home — we never seem to tire of the country scenes. “We gave a Christmas party for the poor kids here who have no Christmas. We had about 80 wrapped toys and candy balls and about 150 children showed up! It was great fun—we made some good old-fashioned chocolate fudge with pili nuts. This was quite a production on a native stove. A and B came from Santa Magdalena for Christ mas. The day after Christmas we all went to Sorsogon to start on our work project.... We went to Casiguran and worked on a cement fence the PTA is building around the school to keep the carabaos out! We had some good fel lowship and hard work. I have blisters all over my hands and sore muscles to prove the latter! It was a and comfort. It is not, there fore, unkind for us to regard these partners of alien econo* mic invaders as enemies of the nation, traitors to the people’s cause. They are just as wick ed as common criminals and are no better than Communist spies who work to subvert our democratic institutions. But these elements are not the only factor that casts a May 1962 35 good time and we learned a lot that will come in handy in our next projects. It was really a gas to watch the townspeople watch American women digging ditches and mixing cement. “Now we are back in Bulusan. I am trying to get a fence built around the, yard so that I can have a garden. It -is best to plant in January, so I have been told, and we want to have the whole bit organized by then. We hope to build a chicken coop out there, too, and have a few chickens because eggs are im ported to Bulusan. “Our work in the school should really begin to shape up in January. We have ob served class already and will be ready to start work when school opens again. We will be working for 15 minutes in each English class through out the day. During the free ' THOUGHTS ON THE . . . dark shadow on our path to a better state of affairs. They are not the only cause of our social and political bewilder ment. Equally inimical to a sound program of national development is the appear ance of a phenomenon among our countrymen which, for want of a more readily avail able name, I would call poli tical obfuscation and cultural 45 minutes we will work with individual pupils who are having much trouble. Then, three times a week for half an hour we will conduct a speech clinic for the teach ers.” One Peace Corps volunteer is starting a language center in Negros Occidental. By language he means both Fili pino, in which he is fluent, and English. He writes, “This center will be located in the. Central School, where I’m as signed and will be geared to the needs of the 104 language teachers... My aims are quite modest. They are starting a language library, not just for books but also charts, flash cards and other devices for teaching Tagalog and En glish. .. original research... and in-service training... Al though this sounds ambitious it’s really not going to inter fere with the regular work. . blindness. It is a fast-grow ing malady affecting more and more people in our midst. It manifests itself in the form of either a voluntary refusal or just plain ignorance on their part to realize the limit ations of their abilities, their capacities, their qualifications for specific tasks and posi tions. No office or employ36 Panorama Two teachers are already helping quite a bit.” English and science are the main subjects volunteers teach but they are used in the schools in other ways, too. A girl from Negros writes, sHave a few interesting things to report. Perhaps just the slightest little sign of pro gress thrills and encourages us these days, I don’t know. Anyway the evening meal, when we all finally return home, is mixed with much school chatter. We have all discovered in our language classes that these children can be creative... And, they seem as pleased with their success as we are. “The field is wide open. In the past two weeks I’ve seen so many opportunities for creative development that I hardly know where to begin much less how to relate them ment seems to be beyond their inadequate educational quali fications and experience. The illiterate driver, the night club crooner, or even the clown believe that they could qualify for any public posi tion of responsibility, whether it be that of city mayor, pro vincial governor, congress man, or senator. Completely ignorant of the character and to you. But, I’m sure you al ready know that. “Right now I’m in the pro cess of constructing (or try ing to construct) a scaled en larger that does not require a lens. I’m using some native bamboo stalk that we got from the school yard... the idea comes from a toy I re member from my childhood.. If it works, I’ll see, if with my help the boys can think out this problem and con struct one of their own. Then we can use books and trace large maps for the school rooms. This way we do two things at once. “As for the actual native materials for art projects I’ll send you a list right soon. A lot of them are so obvious— the bamboo, the palm and others. We worked with it all last week in girl scouts...” All of the volunteers help in teaching English and science. nature of these positions and unaware blj the responsibili ties these involve, they pre sent themselves as candidates for these exalted offices. They have no idea of the problems that a high government offi cial has to face and solve. Their main interest is to hold the post, to bask in the gla mor of public office, and to (Continued on page 39) May 1962 37 They must spend at least 20 hours a week in the schools on that job. They have learn ed to love Filipino children, but they have developed oth er interests, too, as members of the communities in which they live as these letters reve^d. T have been quite thrilled with the possibilities in this elementary gardening pro gram... the soils are... washed out... To interest the kids we have got to build the soil... we want to set up school gardens and home gar dens with Bulganan banana suckers so that the idea of set ting up a cooperative market ing system for the kids may in a year or two start produc ing some income for these barrios from sales to Japan.” That particular volunteer from Negros Oriental is inter ested in agriculture. Here is a letter from one boy inter ested in rural health on Masbate. “Coordinating the efforts of PACD, USIS, and the public health people here, it has been possible to launch what ap pears to be an effective cam paign of inoculation and ed ucation against cholera. In the schools, I have busied my self with the treatment of yaws, tropic ulcer, scabies, conjunctivitis, and trachoma. I have been able to obtain pro mises from NWS A to provide a source of pure drinking water for the barrio where I work. In cooperation with the Municipal Health Officer, I am working to provide pure drinking water for the poblacion of Milagros, as well.” From Camarines Sur, a fe male Peace Corp volunteer says, “Four of Us will be doing health work (during the sum mer vacation) in some of the isolated barrios of our area.After some concentrated study and compiling of ma terials, we will go live in these barrios and conduct se minars in simple first aid and basic medical care. We plan to work closely, ptc.” These are seven volunteers speaking, but the letters are taken from their files by ran dom. There are dozens of si milar letters from the 181 Peace Corps Volunteers now in the field in the Philippines. Communism is never men tioned in these letters. There is no feeling of sacrifice or paternalism in their pages. But there is the same deepsense of community with others which Peace Corps vo lunteers everywhere almost take for granted. This con cern is not something which Peace Corpsmen preach about. They do not proclaim the brotherhood of man. They do not even think about it 38 Panorama very much. There is no mar tyrdom, no strings, and no chauvanism in genuine con cern for others; volunteers do their jobs quietly and consci entiously without feelings of sacrificing, without demand ing any tangible return, and without boasting. This does not mean that I lack pride in the volunteers. I cannot help but feel proud as a member of the human family when I see the impetus to service without theatrics, strings, or egotism reach out across national boundaries. I have seen volunteers giving love as well as lessons to their pupils. I have seen them de vote their spare time to com munity activities or public health in, the barrios. I have watched- them dress wounds, THOUGHTS ON THE . . . use its powers and facilities to enrich themselves. How many of those who spend large sums of money and work hard to get them selves elected to a public of fice could tell us exactly why •they want to be so elected and what specific objective do they intend to accomplish in a public position? If elected as official candidates of a party, do they understand the party platform and do they mean to live up to its prin ciples? To say that their aim plant seeds, help others start a small business, and do dozens of useful things in a matter of fact way—in addition to their teaching English and science. The spread of human con cern is something with which we are all familiar. At the political level we might call it the integrative impulse, and define it as the motivation to be associated with and to in fluence and be influenced by others outside of the basic political in-group. The integrative impulse is something that is especially felt by the youth of all na tions. The youth are break ing with the past. They want to reach out for new patterns of human relationships. The Communist movement had (Continued from page 37) is to serve the people is no better than to offer a vague and meaningless excuse which no thinking man could in con science accept; for every in telligent citizen should know that he could also serve his people and country without having to hold a public office. So many of those who wish to hold public positions seem to overlook the fact that for one to fill any of them pro perly he has to be prepared educationally, experientially, and morally. But they refuse May 1962 39 precisely this appeal to youth because it seemed to be say ing to young people—reach: out for association with oth ers, extend your horizons, en large your influence, and unite against your elders and the patterns of life they have laid down. Communism ap pealed to the integrative im pulse in youth, but failed to appeal to their impulse for freedom, and nowhere in the world, except perhaps in La tin America, are the Commu nists still gaining ideological adherents as they were ten years ago. The integrative impulse ap pears in different ways. Among Asian and African youth the thrust toward inte gration is through national ism; among European stud ents and young businessmen and professionals it is toward a federated Europe; in the United States of America an THOUGHTS ON THE . . . to admit their limitations. Moved by an erroneous con ception of democracy and equality, they imagine that the physical ability to sit in an official chair gives them the capacity and the wisdom to exercise faithfully and ef fectively the functions and duties of the office. We need to know and to respect the basic principle that a public ever growing number of young men and women have extended their concern to the family of man. It is a revolution because at the political level it is something quite dramatically new in international relations. It is not the concern of the colonialist or imperialist who wants to control; nor is it the familiar concern of the mis sionary who wants to spread his version of ultimate truth. This revolution of widening concern is based on a simple truth which everyone recog nizes in the abstract but which few feel deeply at a personal level. That truth is emblazoned on the wall of the lounge at International House on the University of the Phil ippines College of Agriculture campus at Los Banos in the statement, “Above All Na tions Is Humanity.” That truism, implicit in the office is a public trust. A moral crusade is a farce if this ethical conception is over looked. Popularity is not necessarily a substitute for morality. Democracy does not guarantee equality of ability and character. It merely gives us the assurance of equality of opportunity and equality of treatment before the law. Is it any wonder then that 40 Panorama teachings of all of the great religions, is now a part of the thinking of the men responsi ble for the conduct of foreign relations in my country. Pres ident Kennedy has empasized it in speech and action repeat edly. It may not always be a perfect guide for day to day decisions, but it is the stand ard of conduct to which Am erican statesmen would like to respond. President Kennedy and other foreign policy spokes men repeatedly stress that our major foreign policy goal is to establish the understand ing and legal instruments ne cessary to bring into being a genuine community of man. For those are the two funda mental bases of community. There must be a true under standing of common interests, of our essential unity with all members of the human family including the Chinese and we face today a crisis of lead ership? The direction of pub lic affairs, of economic poli cies, of educational programs should be aimed at well-stu died and well-defined attain able goals. With pedestrian minds and inexperienced hands, it is not possible to ex pect a high degree of stability and order in the management of the essential institutions of Russian people. This is the functional approach to com munity which has been the source of the Marshall Plan, President Truman’s Point Four, the Food for Peace Program, U.S. support of United Nations Specialized Agencies, the international programs of the great founda tions, and the Peace Corps. President Kennedy has pro posed an international Peace Corps because he wants to see Americans working and liv ing together in terms of vo lunteers from many nations. In his message to the United States Congress setting forth the initial program of the Peace Corps, he said, “Let us hope that other nations will mobilize the spirit and ener gies and skill of their people in some form of Peace Corps —making our own effort only one step in a major internaour country — be they govern mental, economic, educational, or social. But again, there are . certain fundamental principles of pub lic morality and certain tech niques of operation which should be learned and under stood. But even more than only learned, they should be deeply respected and Strictly (Continued on page 43) May 1962 41 tional effort to increase the welfare of all meh and im prove understanding among nations.” Understanding whick tran scends national boundaries and cultural traditions is a goal of the Peace Corps. Without that fundamental consensus on the essential unity of man, legal instru ments to enforce peace cannot long be sustained. But with out a system of law and en forcement which makes the use of war as an instrument of national policy far less pro bable than at present, under standing and consensus are impeded. That is why our President persists in his quest to endow the United Nations with the capacity to make and enforce world law to prevent war. In his speech last fall to the United Nations he said, “To destroy arms is not enough. We must create... worldwide law and law en forcement as we outlaw worldwide war and weapons.” That there has been and is continuing a revolution of widening concern among those of President Kennedy’s generation and among the generation which followed his seems clear to me. In retro spect, it now also seems clear that such a development should be taking place in the United States. There are four basic rea sons why Americans are now reaching with hands of friend ship to build the community of man. Only one of these reasons is a reaction to fac tors outside of the United v States. It is our desire to pre>serve and promote freedom tagainst tyranny. A small rgroup of men have already Simposed tyranny on millions ?and would impose it on the • * rest of us in behalf of an ideo logy that has clearly failed in ^practice. We have learned to value freedom deeply as have all peoples who have experi enced it; and we recognize that our freedom depends on the development of world un derstanding and institutions which make both tyranny and war highly improbable. Even without the threats of Soviet and Chinese imperial ism, the Peace Corps and si milar programs would have been established. The revolu tion of widening concern which is growing in the Unit ed States includes concern for all of humanity not just for peoples living under friendly governments. There is consi derable curiosity about and concern for the Russians, Chi nese, and Cuban people in the United States. We all remem ber that in 1947 when the then American Secretary of State Marshall proposed the 42 Panorama program for cooperative eco nomic assistance which bore his name, the Soviet govern ment was invited to partici pate. Similarly, President Kennedy’s plan for a Peace Corps under U.N. auspices is for all member nations. Why does the impetus to ward integration in the Unit ed States take this form? Why is the span of our con cern global? The answer lies in the historical and social traditions of my country. In the terms of social history these traditions can be label ed American pluralism, prag matism, and messianism. Ethnic religious, and racial pluralism is one of the great clues to American life and a significant factor in under standing our revolution of widening concern. Few for eigners realize that we are a nation of recent immigrants. Even before the 19th century THOUGHTS ON THE . . . observed in the management of the affairs of a democratic society. The head of the state, notwithstanding the best of intentions, could be frustrated in any attempt to carry out his most carefully studied plans and policies if those who are expected to give him as sistance ignore them when they find them ill-adapted to their own personal ambition. our population was diverse. Although predominantly of English origin, our nation in cluded substantial African, French, Dutch, and other mi norities. With the great im migration flow from Europe beginning in 1820 we absorb ed millions of Irishmen, Ger mans, Poles, Russians, and Italians. Between 1820 and 1920 nearly forty million Eu ropeans arrived on American shores. Asians came, too, as a glance at our populations in California and Hawaii re veals. In Hawaii, for ex ample, there are approximate ly 70,000 Filipinos, half of whom are American citizens. Out of • this melange was forged the nation we now know as the United States. We have learned that diver sity of population and tradi tion is compatible with mu tual understanding and con sensus. Our religious plurali(Continued from, page 41) Hence, even knowledge, skills, techniques, and other forms of know-how necessary to give us the aptitude and power to accomplish any work, task, or assignment, will still fall short of enabling us to achieve the high objectives we intend to reach. In addition to all these, we need an attitude of nobil ity, a spirit of self-restraint and sacrifice, a willingness to May 1962 43 sm is almost as great as our ethnic diversity. We have a Catholic President and our oldest Supreme Court judge is Jewish even though we are a predominantly Protestant nation. A sizeable Buddhist minority and dozens of small sects flourish under our laws. Americans may act alike to you, but we embrace tradi tions from every major area in the world. We believe we are much richer for having nearly twenty million £merl cans of African descent, the inspiration for American jazz, who are no less American by linking us to the peoples of Africa just as the descendants of Asia and European immi grants tie us to those conti nent^. For generations, our people looked inward with a policy THOUGHTS ON THE . . . forego unworthy aims, the courage to resist corruption, a deep sense of responsibility. These are the indispensable attributes which we would want to suggest to those amongst us who wish to hold positions of authority, in fluence, and prestige whether in the government, in indus try, in business, and in other areas of society. Knowledge is indeed essential. Physical energy and drive are needed. But above all these, the moral that was incorrectly called “isolationism.” It might bet ter have been labeled “continentalism.” We were busy ex ploring and exploiting a con tinent with people who had for the most part rejected their old countries to make a new life in the United States. This rejection of Europe rein forced the warning of our first President against en tangling alliances with Eu ropean nations. For some groups—primarily the Irish— and German-Americans the rejection of Europe was more specifically revealed in hostil ity towards England, the only nation with which the United States could realistically have been allied. A continuing for mal alliance with England might have prevented World War I and the rise of Hitler, force of character is indispen sable. A prominent Ame r i c a n scholar, Arthur M. Schlesinget, Jr., recently wrote that “ours is- an age without, he roes,” and that in America to day no towering figure ap pears on the public scene. No Roosevelt, no Lincoln, no Woodrow Wilson, no Jeffer son, or Franklin, may be found among its national leaders at present. Do we not find a cor responding vacuum in our Panorama but it would have produced extreme tensions between eth nic groups in the United States. Now we are secure in our Americanism and the age of continentalism or isolation ism is over. Not only is our alliance with England and Western Europe accepted, but we go out to the rest of the world as a part of the family of man,. knowing from first hand experience that the real ization of unity within diver sity is possible. The development has never been more evident than in the recent commencement ad dress given by our Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy, at Nihon University in Tokyo. Mr. Kennedy, whose grand parents were Irish immi grants to the United States, and whose father was often called an isolationist, stated own country today? As we look around us, we do see some good and able men. But we do not find it easy to see any commanding personality with the vision, character, and nobility sufficiently great and inspiring to stimulate and to awaken the heart and soul of our nation to the realization of our potentialities for excel lent achievements. The role that was played by Quezon, Tavera, Osmena, Juan Sumulong, Recto, and Laurel in the respective heydays of their that, “The resources of the earth and the ingenuity of man can provide abundance for all—so long as we are pre pared to recognize the diver sity of mankind and the va riety of ways in which peo ples will seek national fulfill ment. This is our vision of the world—a diversity of states, each developing ac cording to its own traditions and its economic and political problems in its own manner, and all bound together by a respect for the rights of oth ers, by a loyalty to the world community and by a faith in the dignity and responsibility of man.” With the end of isolationism and the maturing of Amer icans it was perfectly natural for them to want to make the world, including those areas from which their forebears career appears too enormous for many leaders today; but we need to have someone to play a like role if our country is to prosper. The circumstances and con ditions of present-day Philip pines have greatly changed. The political independence of the country has created new problems. It presents new challenges to the ability, the sense of honor, and the spirit of patriotism of our leaders. These men are expected to set (Continued on page 52) May 1962 45 had come, their home. That is what we have done in the Peace Corps. Here in the Philippines, we can visit households of American Peace Corps Volunteers of Dutch, Polish, French, Italian, Ger man, African, and even Mex ican, Syrian, and Lebanese descent. Our volunteers of Jewish background work easily and effectively with our Jewish volunteers. They take plura lism for granted, and they find it easy to live among Fi lipinos and in other countries where they are located. They have learned again as they learned in the process of be coming Americans — that the human family is one. The ba sic emotions and drives are human, not French or Ameri can or Filipino. Our volunteers can make the world their home because of their own experience with pluralism. They reach out with Peace Corps programs because of another American tradition, pragmatism. Our overriding commitment is to freedom, and we are noto riously experimental. We are a nation that learns through trial and error. We are feel ing our way in the world, but we believe there are human problems of disease, hunger and misunderstanding toward whose solution we desire to contribute. We recognize the importance of bridging the gap between the richer and poorer nations since no basis for understanding among na tions can exist when so much of humanity is deprived. The rapid economic development of this and other nations in the Southern half of the globe is a problem which challenges Americans. In this country there are eight Peace Coips volunteers deeply concerned with the economic decline of “their” island. I said “their” island, because they already feel as though they belong there. I have heard them dis cussing the possibility of in troducing new crops or new cottage industries to stem lhe migration of their neighbors to other provinces. They will work together with Filipinos in trying new seeds and in surveying markets for new products to solve the island’s basic economic problem. Americans are notoriously practical, and the practical man might be expected to re main in comfort at home and solve problems there rather than travel half way around the globe to live in the vil lages and barrios of Asia. Americans are practical in their resistance to orthodox ideologies, but they are also extremely idealistic. If being practical means being cynical, 46 Panorama they are not practical. A na tion of poor immigrants that has made good is not cynical. If being practical means they are non-ideological, that they are pragmatic and experiment tai, then they are decidedly practical. What could be more practical than trying to learn about the world by mak ing the world your home? American idealism, indeed messianism, is the third na tional characteristic whjch gives rise to the Peace Corps. Americans believe in their re volution, a revolution which our nation of immigrants ce lebrates just as strongly as if their ancestors had actually dumped the tea in Boston Harbor. We avoided entang ling alliances with Europe precisely because we were afraid that somehow the fruits of revolution would be won away from us in diplomacy, although our diplomats al ways proved themselves to be shrewd bargainers when ne cessary, and even though we were happy to encourage re volution in Southern Europe and Latin America. We have found periodic ways to refresh our zeal for freedom to pursue life, liber ty, and happiness. In this century our revolution was renewed twice through Wood row Wilson’s -New Freedom and aborted quest for a Leaque of Nations and Frank lin Roosevelt’s New Deal and United Nations. Both Wilson and Roosevelt shared the tra ditional American optimism that our revolution for free dom could be exported to new worlds. American messianism re ceived a sharp but temporary blow in the intransigence and growing power of Soviet Rus sia, developments which stunned and confused many of us. We discovered that the Soviet revolution was not like our revolution for free dom at all. It was naive of us as a nation not to make the discovery much sooner, but we will admit to naivete as a national charaoteaastic, too. Once recovered from the blow, our idealism reawaken ed, we were prepared again to proclaim our revolution. The Peace Corps voluteers are not the conscious messia nic instruments of revolution for freedom, but they are pro ducts of that continuing re volution and of the deep Am erican conviction that it ought to and can be shared by everyone. By freedom Americans have always meant more than freedom from au thority. They mean freedom to choose in the broadest sense. Fredom of choice de pends upon equality of oppor May 1962 47 tunity, and that is the other part of our revolution pro claimed in Jefferson’s-words that all men are created equal. Equality and freedom are a sham for babies born in disease or poverty, for children whose fathers are underpaid or cannot own land, and the idealism or messian ism of young Americans speaks again through the Peace Corps to these issues as Americans from Jefferson to Roosevelt have spoken be fore. To say that the Peace Corps represents America’s revolu tion of widening concern is really to say that it is the application of our oldest re volution and most vital con cern on a world scale. Peace Corps volunteers then, as in congruous as it may seem, are tjre products of both our prag matic and messianic tradi tions. 48 Panorama Professor’s Wife (reading the paper over his shoulder) — “One Wife Too Many” — I suppose he was a bigamist. Absent-minded Prof. — Not necessarily, my dear. — Penn State Froth. * * * ♦ The young couple sat in their six-by-eight “garden.” “I see by this medical work,” said the lady, “that a man requires eight hours’ sleep and a woman ten.” “Yes,” agreed the man; “I’ve read that some where myself.” “How nice!” said the lady. “You can get up every morning and have the fire made and breakfast ready before it is time for me to get up!” — Minneapolis Tribune. ♦ ♦ ♦ Agatha: How did Freddie lose all his mo ney? Preferred stock? Harriett: No, preferred blondes. — Life. * * * Hubby — What a wonderful morning! I could dare anything, face anything on a day like'this. Wifey — Fine! Come on down to the dress shop. — Life.
pages: 33-48