By MARSHA MERCER
After 9/11, a patriotic impulse swept the United
States. Flags waved on every corner and everybody wanted to do something to
fight terrorism. But not everyone wanted to, or could, volunteer for the military.
President George W. Bush urged people to go to
Disneyland. And so the moment was wasted.
Today, less than 1 percent of Americans serves in the
military. Over the last 14 years, we have grown increasingly disconnected from
one other and more distrustful of government. Many lament our lack of civility
and poisonous politics but feel powerless to change anything.
Fewer and fewer experiences unite us as Americans. Even
the occasions that many people share – like donating to a good cause on Giving
Tuesday – we do alone.
But there’s hope. While some problems, like the horrifying
gun violence we saw in California on Wednesday, seem intractable, bipartisan
support is coalescing around a way that could bring us together: voluntary
national service.
The Aspen Institute Franklin Project is promoting
the idea that every American 18 to 28 should have the opportunity to spend a
year in full time, fully paid public service in an area such as health,
poverty, conservation or education.
The project envisions that a million young people
would participate by 2023. The year of service would become a cultural
expectation and rite of passage, much as serving in the military once was. National
service would not be mandated but highly encouraged, perhaps with tuition
forgiveness, a new G.I. bill and other perks.
“There’s something about service that’s essential to
citizenship,” retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, former commander of U.S.
forces in Afghanistan and chairman of the Franklin Project, said at a panel
discussion Monday at the Aspen Institute in Washington. “It’s what defines a
nation.”
World War II put 16 million Americans in uniform,
but everybody was asked to do something. National service would create alumni
similarly invested in the country’s future, McChrystal said.
The Franklin Project’s blue-ribbon Leadership
Council includes former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza
Rice, NAACP former president Benjamin Jealous, former Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates and former NBC News anchor and author Tom Brokaw. Also, Virginia first lady Dorothy McAuliffe and College of
William and Mary President W. Taylor Reveley III.
They’re hoping to jumpstart national service. Since
John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps in 1961, presidents have tried to
expand national service. In 2008, both presidential candidates -- Barack Obama
and John McCain – promised to make national service a priority.
President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve
America Act in 2009, proclaiming a “new era of service.” The law was supposed
to expand AmeriCorps from 75,000 to 250,000 individuals. AmeriCorps members are
neither volunteers nor employees. They receive stipends to cover living
expenses, health insurance, child care and, upon completion of their term of
service, education grants.
Some conservatives oppose “paid volunteerism,” and Congress
never provided funding for the expansion. The Franklin Project is looking to
enlist the private sector to pay for public service opportunities.
President Obama last year started Employers of
National Service which links AmeriCorps and Peace Corps alumni with employers.
More than 150 companies, nonprofits, public agencies and cities, including
Philadelphia and Nashville, have signed on to give alumni a boost in
recruitment, hiring and promotions.
Virginia became the
first state Employer of National Service in January. State agencies are directed to recruit
AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps alumni and to consider public service as part of
the hiring process.
On the 2016 presidential campaign trail, Hillary
Clinton promises to expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 individuals by 2017 and would
allow those who commit to service to graduate from in-state colleges debt-free.
Other candidates in both parties support expanding national service to varying
degrees.
Many more young people want to serve than can currently
be accommodated. About half a million people apply for the 75,000 AmeriCorps
slots. This year, more than 44,100 people, most of them recent college
graduates, applied for 4,000 Teach for America jobs.
Some high schools and colleges require public
service for graduation. Arizona State University opened a Public Service Academy
this fall that is believed to be the first undergraduate program in the country
similar to ROTC for students who want to work in the volunteer sector.
Young Americans are yearning to serve their country.
Let’s give them the chance – and build stronger communities and a more robust
citizenry in the process. We can’t afford to waste another moment.
©2015 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.
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