November 5, 2008
Me and Barak? Yeah, We’re Tight
First, let me just say, YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to my shortwave radio, I was able to catch election returns this morning, on the BBC and CRI. Hearing, live, that PA was projected for Obama and Obama has a sizable lead in FL. It was closer to the action than I thought I’d be. I must admit, I would’ve liked to channel surf, listening to the pundits. I did hear Eleanor Clift on BBC. Anyway, my radio was easily the wisest purchase I’ve made in Kyrgyzstan. Thanks to the Brooklyn Board of Elections, I was not able to vote. My absentee ballot never arrived. Of course maybe they didn’t have time to process my request. I mean I only applied for it in June. Proof again that everything in New York City is more difficult than it should be. As much as I wanted to vote in this historic election, the outcome was more important, which leads me to explain the title of this post.
In the fall of 2002 I was the executive assistant to one of the top black executives in Chicago. One day the phone rings and I ask, “Who’s calling, please?” The man says, “This is Barak Obama.” I told him I’d have to take a message as my boss was out of the office. Since I’d never heard of him, I asked him to spell his name. Later that day I asked my boss about this Barak fellow. I learned he was beginning to raise money to run for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and since my boss was a brother with money, he got a call. If memory serves me correctly, he wrote Obama a check for $1000. I was also told to keep an eye on this guy because he was a rising star. And I have. I spoke with our new president twice again after that first call. I remember the third call clearly. Perhaps sensing I might be a potential vote one day, or maybe it’s just his nature, we actually chatted for about two minutes. He asked me how long I’d been working for the company and I told him, but that it was just to pay the rent. My true love was playwriting. He wished me luck and that was that. Not a big deal, but I can say I’ve spoken to a president of the United States. I’m thinking maybe I’ll shoot him an email now that he’s got some pull in Washington. I’ll ask if he’ll work on increasing the Peace Corps’ budget. After all, we have a history.
Obama
pledged to double the number of Peace Corps Volunteers to 16,000 by 2011. In
2007, 8079 Americans were serving as PCVs in 75 countries around the world. By
the time I entered, the number had risen to 75. This was an ambitious endeavor
and he wouldn’t come close to achieving it; the Peace Corps did receive more
funding in subsequent years, but not nearly enough to double its size. The
numbers were revised later to 11,000 volunteers by 2016. That goal won’t be
reached either. In 2010, the number of volunteers stood at 7,616 and by 2013
only 6,919 volunteers and trainees were part of the PC. To be fair, the number
of countries with a Peace Corps presence had decreased to 65 countries. Why
couldn’t the president’s goal be reached?
Securing
additional funding for such budget items as NPR, the NEA and the Peace Corps
usually fails. In fact, efforts to defund PBS and the NEA take place yearly, or
they did several years ago anyway. The vital organizations may receive small
incremental bumps in their budgets, but it’s never enough to achieve all they
desire. As you may know, Republicans are the main stalwarts in these efforts.
Another
digression. During my service I only met one volunteer who publicly admitted to
being a Republican and he received his fair share of ridicule and abuse,
warranted or not. Hollywood has been called the Celluloid Closet regarding
homosexuality; that’s not a problem in the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps’ closet
if full of Republicans. Well, maybe not full, hell maybe not crowded at all,
for all I know. I’d love to know how many volunteers, a percentage, would admit
to an affiliation with the GOP, because everybody know the vast number of us
are bleeding heart liberals. I’d be shocked if it were even 5%. I’m guessing
more like 1-2%. Young republicans are too busy interning with Goldman Sachs or
Citi. Chris Dodd and Chris Matthews are two of the more well-known RPCVs
(Returned Peace Corps Volunteers). I can’t name a single republican of similar
stature who served.
Why has
the number of countries fallen over 10% in the past eight years? Safety and
civil unrest, which go hand-in-hand, would be my guess. In 2014, the PC
suspended the program in Kenya because of civil unrest. Volunteers were likely
given the option of leaving the Corps’ in good standing if they were close to
completing their service or being relocated to another country. That would be a
pain, because they would probably have to go through Pre-service Training (PST)
again, learn another new language and hear the same health and safety
information. Personally, I would ask for a transfer if I were less than 18
months into my service; more than that and I’d ask to be sent back to the
states. Sometimes the Peace Corps is asked to leave, as was the case in Russia.
The Russian government was convinced that the volunteers were CIA spies, or at
least that’s the story I was told several times. I checked the PC website and
was surprised to see that volunteers are still serving in The Ukraine given all
the fighting going on there. My guess is they are all stationed in the western
section of the country away from all the turmoil.
The
financial crisis impacted the Peace Corps in a positive way for a while. With
few jobs available to new graduates, the PC became a viable alternative. It
would give the economy time to hopefully improve and pad their CV. Applications
jumped to the highest levels in years in the first couple of years of the
crisis, but that didn’t last long. One obstacle the Peace Corps needed to
overcome was the arduous task of applying. I’m sure many potential volunteers
said to hell with this after five hours of trying to complete the forms and
seeing they were nowhere near completion. In 2013, only 10,000 people applied
to the PC. The leadership finally realized something must be altered and they
began by streamlining the application process. Now, the process took about an
hour. Applicants could select their preferred country and specialization. In
the past your recruiter told you want you would do and where you would do it. As
a result of these changes, applications spiked to 23,000 in 2015. This didn’t
mean more people would become volunteers, but the quality of volunteer should
increase as the pool increased so dramatically.
Since
1961 approximately 220,000 Americans can say they have completed their Peace
Corps service. As I’ve mentioned several times, I know this is not for
everyone, but I wish more people would join. It really is the adventure of a
lifetime.
