Something has completely escaped today’s terrorists. The world will always need an “America”—a country in which citizens not only believe in, but in reality must have, an opportunity to control their destinies. “America” has come to represent a place in which oppressed citizens of the world will always seek refuge. And the current war on terrorism and America has given me an even deeper appreciation for some parts of America’s past—and glimmers of hope for things to come.
Walking past the old Works Progress Administration retaining wall that supports the sports fields in our neighborhood’s Groveland Elementary School, has reminded me for years of the spirit of our nation’s call-to-arms in a different era; a spirit of unity, purpose and new directions—and most of all—citizens working to serve the greatest number. I admit I am often wistful for the spirit of that time; for I sometimes wonder if that spirit is as durable and as beautiful as that old, hand crafted, stone wall.
I have known more than one baby-boomer of the 1950’s to be somewhat jealous of the salutations witnessed among members of the World War 11 generation when two former servicemen met for the first time, “Where did you serve?” It proffered not only introductions to another person’s past, but was a gateway of interest to each other’s battles. From there, their comradeship could go most anywhere. Now imagine every citizen of this country having just such a form of introduction immediately available to each and every other citizen: “Where did you serve?”
“Where did you serve?” It reflects a different attitude among our citizenry than “Where did you go to school?” Each reflects a very different kind of education, and neither should demean the other.
Service, like love and violence, can take many forms. One of the roles of government should be to provide the opportunity for each of us to serve our nation. How else will we maintain a free, open, and informed citizenry? How else can every citizen, including mentally and physically challenged citizens, so readily access an experience that creates the sense of belonging to a community that is always greater than the sum of its parts? How else can we hope to further the public interest in any democracy when capitalism, for all its rewards, may always have the capacity to run rampant and eclipse that interest?
Those years immediately following secondary school would seem to provide an ideal opportunity for young people to explore the collective needs of their broader community. Learning more about themselves and their communities they might effectively arrive at a meaningful vocation. I’m talking about a mandated service corps for each and every citizen, whether born in the USA or not. Mandating military style service for our young people would be totalitarian and “un-American.” Providing greater opportunities, however, for every young citizen to serve, just prior to reaching the age of majority, could well serve this country and its citizens. Now, any parents out there already protesting because you know you’ve given birth to the next Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey, and you’re anxious for them to just get on with their lives, won’t you just settle down and set your dreams aside for the sake of a soul’s call and the sake of a nation?
Too few young people have the opportunity for a university-style internship. Could we not open up the concept of internships to a much larger segment of the population? Even among students, internships are seldom a reasonable opportunity if they are either single or married parents. Yet even our university students rarely have enough experience of themselves, of work opportunities, and of community needs to have a strong sense of direction regarding their futures. For those young people who feel they already know their path, how could more exposure to other opportunities possibly hurt? How often have we seen music majors switch to study law? Medical students forced into crisis upon discovering they couldn’t keep up the grades, the stress, and the cost of education? Internships won’t eliminate such experiences, but it will reduce them. Acquiring independent living skills is only one small part of the college experience and sometimes it still isn’t successful. Perhaps it’s the emotional maturity piece that is missing for too many of our youth.
Americorps, our domestic peace corps, could be extended to provide the framework for just such internships of service. Service through such an entity will go beyond race, economic status, and intellectual quotients. In addition to including environmental and reading programs to the disenfranchised, Americorps could be opened up to include any of the helping professions, along with any number of other occupations. Before our corporado’s see this as an opportunity to simply access cheap labor, our government needs to move quickly to provide the leadership necessary for a brave, new Americorps. And we don’t have to stop short—we can provide greater opportunities to serve for citizens of any age.
The world will always need an “America.” But whether or not “America” exists in that part of the world we now recognize as the United States of America, in the heart of the North American continent, or only in the minds of a nation’s citizens, is now truly up to the rest of us.
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