John Eggers: A reason why you were born

“The letters spelling ‘peace’ are a little bit out of alignment,” my wife said as I was about to hang a peace sign given to us by our daughter. The letters spelling “peace” were large and each was just a little bit off center. Then Kathy said, “I guess peace is a little bit off center anyway.”
I had to agree. No peace is perfect. Here in the United States, a country founded on peace principles, peace is far from perfect. Every day at least 30 people are killed due to gun violence. Our prisons are packed full. We still have issues with racism and equality. Many people do not have equal opportunity to succeed. We do not graduate all of our students. No, we are not perfect but we still try to create a more perfect union.
We brokered a deal with Iran that is far from perfect but at least we are preventing them from building a nuclear weapon. We added a piece to our peace puzzle. Nelson Mandela is right, “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”
Peace goes this way and that way. There are highs and lows. It zigs and it zags. Sometimes peace skips a beat like when the United States was involved in our Civil War. Nevertheless, we persist and we are tenacious.
This weekend, about 20 former Peace Corps Volunteers will travel to Bemidji to attend a 50th year reunion. In 1965 there were about 40 of us who traveled to Uruguay as Peace Corps Volunteers. We were divided into two groups. I was part of a basketball/sports group and Kathy was part of a rural youth group.
The United States government spent a lot of money on each volunteer as part of the Peace Corps, which still exists today. More than 200,000 of us participated in the Peace Corps and we went to 84 different countries. There are quite a few former volunteers from Bemidji who participated in the Peace Corps, which was founded in 1961 by John Kennedy.
If you were to ask each of us if we made a difference in the world in terms of promoting peace, you would find some hesitation before receiving an answer something like, “I hope so.”  I can’t say for certain that we made a difference in our host country but as a result of the Peace Corps, many people do hold a more positive view of Americans.
The Peace Corps did make a difference in each of us. We are certainly more aware of the need for peace in the world and have become promoters of peace.
What can you and I do to promote peace? Consider the words of Anne Frank, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve our world.”
Too many of us don’t give ourselves credit. We think that peace is beyond our capabilities. It’s too big to handle. Desmond Tutu said,  “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
What are some little bits that we can do? We can support any effort that promotes peace in any way. This support doesn’t necessarily have to be in dollars, it can be remaining positive about peace efforts and giving more verbal support for peace than war. In the words of the 1960’s and 70’s peace chant, “Give peace a chance.”
Encourage young people as well as older folks to think about the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps. Young people out of college may still be searching for their niche in life. Serving in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps will give them a chance to sort things out while serving others. One thing is for sure; it will change their lives.
Vote for candidates who talk about peace first and war second.
Continue to do what you do to serve others. By serving others all of us become instruments of peace.
Nelson Mandela also said, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” Be a positive role model for young people. Show them what love and caring means.
President Dwight Eisenhower knew much about war. Maybe that is why he had so many quotes about peace. “We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom.”
What kind of climate can each of us create that will bring about peace? That’s an important question. Maybe, just maybe, it might be the most important question we can answer in our life. To quote Mark Twain, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Make peace the reason why you were born.
John R. Eggers of Bemidji is a former university professor and area principal. He also is a writer and public speaker.