Can the Peace Corp restore America's reputation abroad?

R.Y. Douglas

“People in other countries don’t hate us because of our values- but rather that they are disappointed with us because we aren’t always true to those values.”
-Subcommittee Chairman Bill Delahunt



Two of the Peace Corp’s primary functions are to promote better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served and promote better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

The Peace Corp should be more relevant today than ever due to the declining reputation of America in many parts of the world. The mission of the Peace Corp to promote cross-cultural understanding could serve as a “global” public relations campaign that could restore the reputation of the U.S. as a nation that values diverse relationships and thrives on multicultural communication. The outreach tactic of the Peace Corp to promote the U.S. as a nation that reaches out to all people of all walks of life who reach out a hand in need has been lost as of late but is still inherent to the purpose of the organization.

It is obvious from the organization’s Web site that their main interest is in working with diverse populations. Many different ethnic groups, young and old, men and women are all present on the site. I also was struck by the use of a global map on the home page to illustrate their interest in serving diverse communities around the world. Today, international service has the potential to emerge as a characteristic intrinsically bound to being American.