歪歪漫画

Have you ever had a moment that might be captured in our history books?

I never had one, but my wife, Kathy, had one. On October 14, 1960, she joined thousands of University of Michigan students waiting on campus for presidential candidate John Kennedy to give a speech.

He wasn鈥檛 scheduled to stop at Ann Arbor, but he heard students were waiting for him, so he decided to stop. He spoke for about 10 minutes.

It wasn鈥檛 a particularly memorable speech (you can listen to it on YouTube), except for a few moments. In the speech, he asked if any students would be willing to volunteer their time and spend a year or two overseas helping another country.

Hundreds of the students raised their hands.

After he was elected president, Kennedy signed an executive order establishing the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961. As you may recall, R. Sargent Shriver was the first director. A plaque at the University of Michigan commemorates the spot where Kennedy spoke.

Kathy was only a senior in high school then, but the idea intrigued her, so after she graduated from the University of Michigan in 1965, she was accepted into the Peace Corps. Since its founding, over 240,000 people have served in the Peace Corps in 142 countries 鈥� a few returned volunteers reside in Bemidji.

What does the Peace Corps have to do with 鈥渢oo many wasted lives?鈥�

The Peace Corps has three goals, which still guide it today. The first goal is to bring service or assistance to another country. The Peace Corps will only go to countries where they are invited.

The second goal is to learn about the host country's culture, and the third goal is to help the host country learn more about the United States. In other words, this cultural exchange is integral to the success of the Peace Corps.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, 鈥淧eace cannot be achieved through violence; it can only be attained through understanding.鈥�

Without peace, we will continue to see lives wasted.

Over 100 armed conflicts in the world are monitored by the Geneva Academy of International Law. The conflict we are most familiar with is now occurring between the Hamas and Israel.

As of April 24, 2024, over 35,000 people (34,262 Palestinian and 1,410 Israelis) have been reported as killed. Approximately 13,000 are children. Imagine?

People in the United States are becoming so immune to the deaths of young people that we fail to recognize how many lives are wasted. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens ages 1-19 in the United States.

Every year, get ready for this, 19,000 children and teens are shot and killed or wounded, and approximately 3 million are exposed to gun violence.

It鈥檚 not just the gun violence where we find lives are wasted. How many young people die from drug addiction, car accidents, suicide, or parental abuse?

So, all of these are wasted lives. We see pictures of young people in our papers and learn about wasted lives in the news.

These are young people who never will experience the excitement of birthday parties, family reunions, fishing outings, going to the fair, or going to their favorite pizza place. These are wasted lives.

These are people who will never experience the joy of having a family, of finding a job, or of feeling gratified by contributing to society. These are wasted lives.

These young people will not experience the thrill of receiving a high school or college diploma or serving their country in the military. These are wasted lives.

So, what can we do about it? The problem is huge. Maybe, just maybe, we can chip away at it. One thing we can do is support the idea of the Peace Corps or any group where peace is a goal.

We have a group in Bemidji called Peacemaker Resources. There is a growing number of International Peace Poles throughout the city to remind us to pray for peace.

Let鈥檚 ban assault weapons. I realize this is very much a political issue to some, but it鈥檚 really not. It鈥檚 a humanitarian issue.

It鈥檚 akin to what happened in Flint, Michigan, where they found lead in the drinking water. What did they do? They got rid of it, and we can do the same with assault weapons.

Parents, you have to do a better job of watching your kids and caring for your kids. If your kids are struggling, I realize it鈥檚 easy for me to say, but you need to 鈥淕et help!鈥� and you have to keep trying.

You love your kids. You need to do the best you can for them. Many people and many agencies are willing to help. This is why we instituted a dropout prevention hotline, (218) 444-STAY. It鈥檚 just another resource available for parents, students, and teachers.

Educators, too many young people still need to finish school. What a travesty. Here is something that we can correct. Think of all the shattered dreams when kids don鈥檛 graduate.

Yes, many will find happiness somehow, but it鈥檚 a tough, tough road. It鈥檚 like everyone else starts the race for living a good life at the starting line, and youth without their diploma are starting 10 yards behind the starting line.

Our high school diploma situation is something we can fix. Let鈥檚 all band together and do it.

Yes, we have too many wasted lives. One wasted life is too many. John Kennedy may have the best advice for all of us, 鈥淧eace is a daily, weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, the pursuit must go on.鈥�

Riddle: Who started the lost and found? (Answer: Our founding fathers. Our founding fathers would want us to keep looking for peace and eliminate wasted lives.)

I want to thank the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe for allowing me to talk about Project Graduate.

John R. Eggers of Bemidji is a former university professor and area principal. He also is a writer and public speaker.