HARRISBURG (TNS) — With the specter of full-scale war looming between Iran and Israel, the message Ambassador Michael Polt brought to Millersville University recently resonates now more than ever. The world needs more people who know how to prevent war and keep the peace.
Polt is a retired diplomat and has served in such volatile regions as Serbia and Montenegro, Panama under the regime of Manuel Noriega, as well as in Germany and Switzerland. He’s now Ambassador-in-Residence at Arizona State University and on a mission to help Americans better understand and support diplomacy as the only anecdote to a world in perpetual war.
The ambassador visited Millersville University under a program sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg and the American Academy of Diplomacy.
And students were eager to hear from someone who’s worked at preventing war how they can help do the same and safeguard their futures. Specifically, students wanted to know what they can do to stop these forever wars that bring so much misery to so many people.
It’s a question heavy on the minds of lots of people these days with wars raging in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, and Haiti, and bombs flying into Israel from Iran.
Here’s what the veteran diplomat told them.
The United States has some of the best diplomats in the world. They are stationed throughout the globe, representing American values abroad and sending back information to help American leaders better understand the world.
The problem is, he said, there aren’t enough of them. Diplomatic posts remain unfilled in key parts of the world, leaving a void that can impact both war and peace.
The U.S. State Department is having trouble recruiting young people to the foreign service, and this is especially true among African Americans and people of color. And diversity is crucial for the foreign service. Our embassies and consulates need diplomats of all colors, cultures and creeds to reflect American values abroad. But too many young people don’t see life overseas in the diplomatic corps as something possible for them. They don’t think they’re good enough to become a diplomat.
But they’re wrong. Ambassador Polt came all the way to Millersville University to tell them so. He told them our country needs young people just like them who are willing to join the foreign service and help save the world from endless wars. He told them they could help strengthen America’s influence abroad and advocate for Congress to provide more resources to keep them from having to fight overseas.
Many of the students were shocked to learn that the U.S. spends less than 1% supporting its diplomatic corps, and 10 times that amount preparing for war.
Ambassador Polt and his colleagues at the American Diplomatic Council won some allies among Millersville students in his call for a new emphasis on diplomacy, including reorganization of the foreign service, increasing resources for recruiting and training, and ensuring American diplomats are fluent in the languages of the countries where they are serving.
It’s a sad fact that too many Americans barely speak English, and our schools do a poor job of encouraging young people to learn foreign languages. Many young people around the world speak at least one other language, often two or three. Pols said Americans need to do better. And he’s right.
The lack of foreign language training is hurting America’s ability to communicate its values around the globe. And Polt warned it’s a serious weakness in the diplomatic corps that must be addressed and soon.
The ambassador made such a convincing case about the importance of strengthening American diplomacy in a world engulfed with war that many students raised their hands to signal their interest in pursuing diplomacy as a career path. And some of our congressmen may be getting emails and phone calls soon, demanding they support the academy’s efforts to revamp the foreign service and support American diplomacy abroad.
Voices of ordinary Americans like the Millersville students can provide the pressure needed to convince Congress to provide more funding and support to prevent wars. These students want to live in a world at peace, not one filled with famines, massacres and genocide. Ambassador Polt showed them a way to help make it so.
(Joyce M. Davis is PennLive’s outreach and opinion editor.)
