As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, longtime lurker and recent dKos commenter (1st diary here), I did a search for "peace corps volunteers" in dKos diaries and found none. Nilch. Nada. What a surprise. RPCV's are among the most progressive, internationally savy, and activist-prone single group of folks I have ever known. Where are you guys and why aren't you on dKos?
I was one of the early Peace Corps volunteers, inspired by JFK's famous "ask not" speech while in college, interested in things international (undergrad training in Chinese and Japanese), and ready to volunteer to serve in 1964. Coming from a political background, taken by parents to go polling the precinct, block walking and handing out sample ballots while still in grade school, it was natural that I would answer JFK's call to "do for my country."
So many of my male college classmates were finding themselves in Vietnam after graduation (some Special Forces folks in my Chinese class went over even before graduation), and I wanted to "serve", and I wanted to go to Asia, I wanted to do whatever I could to facilitate peace.
1964 found me in recently un-colonized British Borneo, teaching English at a Chinese middle school. My 4 years in the Peace Corps became the most influential period of my life, a story echoed by countless Peace Corps volunteers.
But where are you folks? Are you shy lurkers? Are you diarists? You have a lot to offer to the dKos community.
You have extensive in-country experience in Korea, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, China; you speak Farsi, Spanish, Malay, Russian; you have "been there, seen that", you are volunteers, you are activists, you are not folks who shrink from a political fight, and are certainly folks who can support progressive causes.
Speak up! Are there RPCVs out in dKos-land who need a voice?