A Junkie's Take on Obama's National Service Plan
Monday July 7, 2008
While I usually attempt to be objective, I need to fess up to a raging bias when it comes to "national service," i.e. government programs to encourage full-time civilian service. I wrote a book about the creation of AmeriCorps and...
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If you recall your American History, FDR started the grandaddy of Americore with the CCC that rebuilt America after the Great Depression.
The CCC and the Army Engineers restored confidence in America and its government.
Obama's plan reminds me of that. At a time when Americans have low self esteem and millions face poverty, lose of homes or jobs (or both), we need a boost from our government rather that padding the rich and offering pennies to the middle class.
The future is ours and we need to claim it for ourselves and our children. I remember a day when education in America was free for its citizens.
It is strange that it has been Democrats that have come up with ways to put Americans to work (FDR, JFK, Bill Clinton and now Obama)yet they have been accused of creating a Welfare State. The highest rate of people under welfare has been when Republicans where in power.
Who really care about the people? Who cares about jobs? Who cares about the elderly? You don't have to answer, I already know.
The CCC was conveniently forgotten when it turned that that on film it looked way too similar to the RAD in Nazi Germany. In fact the surviving footage, with its images of blond young men running around without shirts could easily have been lifted from Triumph of Will and it is impossible to look at it without wondering if Dr. Goebbels had been working part time as a consultant.
What a lot of commentators forget is that for the bulk of us boomers, evading the draft in Vietnam was, and is, a mark of intelligence and an act if not of virtue, at least of common sense. Far from hurting Clinton, it certainly helped him and it was one of the factors that sunk John Kerry's silly little speedboat. As the line went in 1996, "It was a choice between someone who got blowed up on last day of a war and someone who had the great good sense to avoid being shot at in the first place." And then in 2004 the line about Kerry was, "Ok, he's qualified to shoot up a post office," and was a clear factor in the re-election of George W.
You know why he doesn't mention it with younger audiences? Because bringing up the idea of a national draft will make younger voters think twice about him, that's why.
i'm not sure what in obama's speeches or ideas of national services resembles a national draft. beefing up existing opportunities for people to actually serve their country and earn pride through their actions in america is far different from drafting them into mandatory military service. i say that as active duty member of the military and fervent supporter of the draft.
People’s Lobby’s nonpartisan American World Service Corps Congressional Proposals is simpler and more robust than the national service proposals from either major candidate. It uses existing governmental and nongovernmental organizations. If implemented as written it would cost effectively field twenty-one million Americans volunteers over the ensuing twenty-seven years in their choice of such governmental and non-governmental organizations as the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity, Head Start, Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, Mercy Corps, and State Conservation Corps.
The key AWSC proposed bill is at
http://www.worldservicecorps.us/world%20service%20key%20proposal%202yr%20volunteer.htm
Summary info with links to more details is at
http://worldservicecorps.us/peoples%20lobby%20has.htm
People's Lobby www.PeoplesLobby.us
Dwayne Hunn, Ph.D., Executive Director 415-383-7880
Author of "Ordinary People Doing the Extraordinary"
Recent YouTubes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRbaWfRantA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFMVeRVTvm4
To sign the AWSC petition http://www.worldservicecorps.us/sign_the_petition.htm
expanding National service is just another reason to raise our taxes even higher. Soon Americans will be required to serve sounds like slavery to mee
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