Lives of Other PCVs
Morocco
Editor’s note: We asked Jonathan L. Williams, a PCV in Morocco, to give us a
glimpse into his service there. He sent us this dispatch.
Why the Peace Corps is like Star Trek
I
would like to tender an analogy
that should resonate with a certain
following amongst you though perhaps
all of you, despite not loving or watching
a series that has been so influential within
American culture, may gain something
from it. I present: why the Peace Corps is
like Star Trek.
Star Trek asked many
questions; in fact, it was
one of the reasons the
show was created.
To explore strange new worlds,
to seek out new life and new civilization,
to boldly go where no one has gone
before…sound familiar? Of course, as
a Peace Corps volunteer it should, for it
describes your very job! That opening
narration to each episode described the
voyages of a group of people not unlike
you, who desired more than anything to
see what was out there. Those characters,
who lived far away from their hometowns
(and home-worlds), were young and
old, married and single, teachers and
economists and all united under the
banner of discovery.
Over the decades the series ran,
?
the crew of the U.S.S Enterprise (and
subsequently Deep Space Nine and the
U.S.S Voyager) ran the gamut of difficulties
one could expect whilst encountering
strange, alien-esque differences. The
warlike Klingons, the most famous of
adversaries (and later allies) along with
the thousands of others species they met,
were each valued for both their cultural
beauty and differences. Numerous
hurdles were overcome, homesickness
in deep space was combated and most
importantly, friendships were formed.
The “Federation,” for whom the
show’s crews provided a societal backdrop,
was created to be analogous to the mod