The Carter Center hopes to arrange for a return letter from Gilad Shalit’s parents. And all will work diligently toward Gilad Shalit’s release. Hamas is demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for the return of Gilad Shalit. Egypt is mediating.
It seems this conflict will never end. Since Israel was created in 1948 it seems there is always trouble in that part of the world. What can be done?
What is needed is for citizens to take diplomacy into their own hands. Through organizations like the Peace Corps, citizens must create peace between citizens. People must, whenever possible, take every opportunity for citizen diplomacy. This is such a global economy, so surely the people of the world can learn to create peace for themselves through citizen diplomacy. Through working overseas people can learn it is governments who fight wars and who force citizens to do the fighting. When people volunteer abroad or teach overseas or join the peace corps, they have an opportunity to see that there are no enemies. People are quite capable of peace, of creating peace and maintaining it. It is only when governments interfere that peace is broken.
If more people can become active in the peace corps and work overseas and teach overseas and volunteer abroad, then there is real chance for world peace. When the people do it for themselves then the governments can only follow. When citizens work abroad and teach overseas and volunteer abroad in the Peace Corps, then peace is sure to come. the more citizens who teach overseas and volunteer abroad in the Peace Corps, the deeper peace will be established by the citizens, the more rapidly peace will spread by the citizens of the world.
The Peace Corps is a very important organization that is the main force behind citizen diplomacy. And also the many programs for people to teach overseas and to volunteer abroad. Many people from the United states have never been outside of their own country. One cannot truly understand how alike we are until we have been overseas to teach or volunteer abroad. the Peace corps is just one example of citizens being directly involved in world peace.
