PEACE CORPS IN THE 21 ST CENTURY: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

15Nixon curtailed U.S. responsibilities as world policeman, and subsequent presidentsadjusted their ambitions to the constraints of the ‘Vietnam syndrome.’” The Peace Corpsitself entered a decline that bottomed out in 1987. “Suspicious of power, manyAmericans seemed suspicious of idealism as well.” 42By the 1980s, “American idealism”was no longer a compelling marketing strategy. Today, recruitment rhetoric responds tothe changing face of the American volunteer. Recruitment rhetoric focuses on thepersonal and professional benefits of service as well as the potential for adventure andexcitement.Characterizing the 21 st centuryToday’s Peace Corps negotiates the tension between the idealism of the past andthe pragmatic concerns of Americans today. The central argument of this studymaintains that American society is no longer the idealistic Kennedian society of the1960s. The organization cannot continue to use the same appeals for service or support.In a May 5, 2005, article in the Chicago-Sun Times, Gery Chico writes, “Remember thePeace Corps? If you’re old enough, you probably recall the commotion when PresidentKennedy launched his great initiative, sending eager young Americans to Third Worldcountries. If you’re not old enough, maybe you heard about it in a history class.Somehow, during the events of the next few decades, we sort of lost track of the PeaceCorps.” 43The Peace Corps has fallen out of the American consciousness. Recruitmentreached its height in the mid-1960s with 15,000 volunteers, but today that number hasbeen reduced by half. 44Leadership faults new public service announcement laws and alimited budget. 45The Peace Corps of today recruits differently than it has in the past,