Senator John Edwards
Democratic Presidential Candidate
Dear Senator Edwards:
In order to direct your attention to a project it is in your
interest to throw your considerable moral weight behind—because it is a cause
so unquestionably in the interest of this country—I want to speak of a man
named Dwayne Hunn. I wonder if you know of his People’s Lobby
organization’s work getting Congress to introduce and pass the American World
Service Corps Congressional Proposals?
In the year 2000 Dwayne revisited haunts he had served as a
young man in the Peace Corps and worked on Habitat for Humanity projects in Sri Lanka, Fiji
and Georgia,
where Jimmy Carter was swinging his hammer with a lot of other sweaty Americans
erasing poverty housing.
Dwayne, the Executive Director of People’s Lobby and of the
American World Service Corps (www.worldservicecorps.us),
has regaled groups such as Freedom From War and the Peace Pyramid in the Sacramento vicinity with
many uplifting stories. The tales he
tells run to a gladdening close: whole villages of folks who come to view
Americans not as an army of occupation and exploitation, but rather as
ministering angels.
Unfortunately the arms of U.S. world service are feebly
staffed at this time. The Peace Corps,
for instance, while still in operation, has a serving base of only around 7000,
compared to 15,000+ a few years after Kennedy and his vision were taken from
us. History leaves us JFK’s immortal
summons, Ask not what your country can do
for you, but what you can do for your country... From the ashes of this all but forgotten
idealism rises the phoenix of Dwayne Hunn’s
dream and mission: American World Service Corps Congressional Proposals to build
a volunteer service corps of one million can-do Americans (comprised not just
of our youth, but tapping all age groups).
These proposals would engage already existing core organizations such as
Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, AmeriCorps, Headstart, Doctors Without
Borders, Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, etc., asking not
simply what we can do for our country, but what we can do for the world.
I’ve been inviting my fellow citizens to dream along with Dwayne Hunn...; to think of quelling terrorism
through our friendly acts instead of creating terrorists by our violence; to
imagine legions of the peaceful and productive going forth to assist with the
next disaster such as Katrina, a tsunami, or an African genocide. I say to them, Imagine standing tall again as Americans!
What’s in it for me? the
inevitable rejoinder resonates on my inner ear.
Sad to say, we live in times when the Jeffersonian dream sometimes seems
to have dwindled to a consumer’s paradise of materialism and greed. Perhaps only imagination and education can
save us: the imagination that comes from educating ourselves in the classroom
of world needs. Our payback then comes from the blessings we feel from having
helped those less fortunate than ourselves.
It’s difficult to perceive why anyone would oppose such a
win-win proposition, and endorsements are growing. Here in California Dr. Bill
Durston, who in his first step into politics garnered such a
substantial number of votes in the recent election and anticipates another bid
for a seat in Congress in ’08, indicated his approval of the WSC when he
addressed my grassroots group the Peace Pyramid. Charlie Brown, who also likely will be a
Democratic legislator in Congress in ’08, enthusiastically supports the
initiatives.
My own enthusiasm, as you will perceive, is scarcely
lukewarm. But I know well enough, Senator EdwardsBoxer, that if those such as
you in influential positions fail to position your crowbar to loft the
regeneration of America,
endorsing this peerless cause, then my enthusiasm is a bag of wind, the WSC is
nowhere, and the loss to our country is immeasurable.
If my “inward radar” does not deceive me, you are that
rarest of contestants checking in for the Great Race, the genuinely dedicated
visionary. As inspiring candidate for
the highest office in the land, will you lead those of us who want a more
peaceful and better future by being the leader to introduce People’s Lobby
American World Service Corps Congressional Proposals early in the 110th
Congress?
Yours in the spirit of hope in the new year,
Dr. Thomas J. King
6923 Vera Cruz
Ct.
Citrus Heights,
CA 95621
916-728-2391
tjking@rcip.com