With the recent murder of an American missionary who was trying to bring the word of god to a secluded tribe on an isolated Indian island, I feel like it’s a good time reflect on my short time with the peace corp and why I left.
I can appreciate wanting to help people. It’s a good feeling to follow. But sometimes people get so caught up in wanting to “help” people that they don’t stop to ask themselves this simple question: Am I really helping?
When I first signed up for the peace corp, it felt like a good option to get out of my comfort zone and make my life about something else for a while. I do have a desire to help people, but after I went through the Peace Corps training and spent some time in my community, I realized how little of that I’d actually be doing.
Ecuador is a developing country, but they’re not very far behind the good ole US of A. My host family had high-speed internet, smartphones, and laptops. What was I going to teach people who have access to all the worlds knowledge at their fingertips? The answer I finally came to, probably not much.
Just before I was supposed to go to my assigned location in a remote banana farm (where they also had internet, computers, smartphones, and a small team of actual doctors), I stumbled across a wedding at one of the beautiful churches in downtown Quito. This wedding was amazing. Everyone was lavishly dressed and the women were decked with jewels. Obviously, a lot of money went into the whole endeavor. This got me thinking though, what are the wealthy locals doing to help their own?
Then another thought occurred: Why have I come to a foreign country to give aid when my own communities in my own country could use a hand? Why have I traveled all this way to go live in a remote village for two years just to tell them to wash their hands, boil water, eat a balanced diet, and wear condoms?
The idea that just the presence of an American will somehow improve the lives of people in these remote areas is misguided and audacious. What has struck me about people from isolated places that I’ve encountered: They’re kind. They share. They live in the moment. They seem happier. They don’t need someone else to come tell them there is a better way to live. (It’s debatable if our way of life is even any better.)
I’d say we’re very self-centered in the US. I don’t mean in the way that people get caught up in their day to day routine and don’t think about the way other people live. People all over the world are just trying to live the best they can. I mean that most Americans I know actually think, no no, they know that our way of life is better. Many of us think that people all over the world envy us. Some do. Many don’t care. They’re busy living their own lives.
America is a great place, but we’re faltering. We’ve fallen behind in several important areas such as education and even economic freedom. Imagine that. Land of the free doesn’t even break the top ten for freedom rankings.
All great empires eventually fall. Usually right after they stop thinking they can learn anything from anyone else. I’m honestly pretty neutral about our current president (Trump), but I will say he strikes me as the kind of guy who only reads his own book if you know what I mean. We don’t have to continue on that path.
I do believe that we should take care of our community first, and that just about all foreign aid or military presence is a waste. Missionaries traveling to places they aren’t welcome just to be murdered is a waste of life. We’ve backed the god of war and oppression for too long. Our influence is no longer respected. Our house is a mess. Until we get everything straightened out here, let’s just leave everyone else in the world the hell alone. They’re probably plenty happy and healthy without us anyway.