PEACE CORPS IN THE 21 ST CENTURY: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

67or working with computers. The Peace Corps projects an image of relative comfort andease. The host country nationals are not captured in moments of sickness or in times ofneed. Their impoverished lifestyles are glossed over in an effort to paint a fun andexciting Peace Corps experience.Making Peace Corps a Household NameThe decision to join the Peace Corps, though it is ultimately an individualdecision, likely includes input from family and friends. Volunteer recruitment not onlyincludes convincing the potential volunteer but also convincing his or her supportnetwork. With a shifting interest in civic engagement, the Peace Corps must invokepublic awareness of the organization and its ideals. Gaddi Vasquez targeted not onlythose potential volunteers, but he also recruited the mind of the American public. Inorder to maintain interest and continual volunteering, the American public must be awareof the organization and what it does. Vasquez stated that the first goal for the 21 st centuryAct isto reacquaint the American people with the mission of the PeaceCorps – by introducing the value of Peace Corps service to a broader audience,particularly school children, seniors and those ‘baby boomers’ who are nearingretirement, we bring the visibility of the work of the Volunteers to a newaudience of potential Volunteers. 127This goal works in concert with boosting recruitment numbers. The Peace Corpsdirection is clear. First public relations work, then the rest.