A town meeting held in honor of Robert Sargent Shriver emphasized the continuing impact of his public service Tuesday in ICC Auditorium.

Panelist Scott Stossel, senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly, who recently published a biography of Shriver entitled Sarge, said that there is “not another American who has made such a difference as Sargent Shriver.”

Stossel described Shriver as a person committed to making the world a more just place, adding that Shriver is a “voice from a more hopeful past,” talking to a younger generation for whom “making the world a better place” seems naive.

Shriver served as the first director and organizer of the Peace Corps from 1961 through 1966, and as the first director of the Office of Economic Opportunity under former president Lyndon B. Johnson from 1964 to 1968.

During this time, Shriver was a lead organizer of Johnson’s war on poverty, establishing numerous economic initiatives, all of which remain in operation today according to panelist Peter Edelman, a faculty member at the Law Center.

Stossel said that Shriver’s focus on what can be done to combat poverty and promote justice, including “expanding the horizons of the impossible,” has inspired him to dream bigger.

Panelist E.J. Dionne, a Georgetown public policy professor and Washington Post columnist, opened his speech by stating that he had wanted to speak not because he had any personal connection to the Shriver family but merely because Shriver has inspired him.

For Shriver, “idealism is not a dirty word,” Dionne said.

Dionne focused on the spiritual nature of Shriver’s public service and emphasized Shriver’s work on the 1952 Catholic Interracial Council, which aimed to help the Catholic Church embrace diversity.

According to Dionne, Shriver’s public Catholicism was evident as he “lived his faith,” quietly attending mass and considering a hard day’s work a form of prayer. Dionne remembered that Shriver identified himself once as “Christian, Aristotelian, optimistic and American, in that order.”

“Sarge Shriver is a hero,” Edelman said, as he described the impact of Shriver’s poverty programs in empowering people.

Edelman noted Shriver’s “pent up impatience to do something about injustice,” which made Shriver view the reality of 35 million poor people in the United States “unconscionable.”

“Sarge inspires us,” concluded Edelman, “he shows us that one person can make a difference to bring about justice.”

One audience member, who displayed his Peace Corps card while describing the personal inspiration that Shriver has been for him, said that in the Peace Corps, “shriverize” was a verb meaning “to make bigger or better.”

Another audience member stated his concern that, although social service is notably up among 18-25 year olds, especially since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, political public service is increasingly unpopular.

Dionne replied that if social service is seen as a compliment for public service rather than a replacement for public service, today’s younger generation could become one of the great reforming generations.

Stossel emphasized that modern youth could be encouraged to espouse public service if it is seen as not just virtuous, but also smart, fun and creative.

Edelman agreed with Stossel.

“Young people need to see the efficacy of government to make a difference,” he said.

“Hopefully we can do a tenth or hundredth of the job to inspire the young people today as you did for us,” one audience member said.

Shriver is the father of Maria Shriver (CAS ’77), who recently resigned her post as a television reporter for NBC. She is the wife of Calif. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R).