People always ask me if I was a volunteer and are surprised to learn that I wasn’t. I’m a historian and a writer, and that’s a question that has never arisen with any of the other books I’ve written. Never before have I been asked to explain why I care about a topic.

I think it’s because the values of the Peace Corps are at the heart of American identity, which is something we’re currently insecure about. America is founded on idealism, on the belief that we do things because they are the right things to do. But we don’t seem to trust that instinct anymore. We need reminders that this is a valuable part of our national mission.

There is now, with the dismantling of USAID, only one original Kennedy program still in existence, and that’s the Peace Corps. While there are stacks of books on the bloody Vietnam War, or on the turbulent Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, we still have only a couple of history books like mine on the enduring Peace Corps. I think that indicates an unfortunate hesitance to take it seriously.

People from all over the world visit Washington, D.C. to see the monuments to who we are, who we aspire to be. Let’s show them we are proud of our efforts to make the world a better place for everyone. Nationalism and isolationism occupy much public discourse today. Our message has new importance.

In a dark space, all it takes is one ray of light to show the way out. Peace Corps Park can be that ray of light, representing the collective effort of people who understand the value of human cooperation. 

Don’t underestimate the power of a physical symbol like this to inspire. Anyone who happens upon the  park will recognize that a group of dedicated people cared so much about  the nation’s highest values that they memorialized them forever.

Cooperation in the name of peace is the oldest story in American history. It goes back to the founding of the republic as an alternative to the endless cycle of war and oppression, and the Peace Corps is a bright manifestation that still resonates today. This is what gives me hope.

So please join me and more than 2,700 other supporters by making a donation to help Peace Corps Park a reality.

Yours in partnership,