A New American Patriotism
Yesterday, Presidential Candidate Senator Chris Dodd unveiled his plan to renew our nation’s commitment to public service. As TParty noted at My Left Nutmeg, the plan is quite ambitious. From Dodd’s speech:
As President, I will ask all Americans to share in the responsibility of bringing our nation together again, and I will provide the ways for all Americans to participate.
Today I am announcing my American Community Initiative to create the first generation in history in which every American serves their country.
Through this kind of universal service, all Americans will have the opportunity to do their part in strengthening America.
Making service a priority in this country starts with making sure in a Dodd Administration the Executive Director of the Corporation for National and Community Service will sit at the Cabinet table.
This is one of the issues where Dodd really stands out as a candidate. As a former Peace Corps Volunteer, he speaks about serving the country with an authority that few of his rivals can match. You can click here to read the details of his national service plan.
I like the idea of tying service in with education, but it only makes me feel as though I’m missing out. I am hopeful that a service plan such as Dodd’s would take into account the specific talents and strengths of individuals and put them to their best use. What I like best about the national service plan is how its implementation would shift our cultural priorities in the right direction.
And speaking of Peace Corps., my friend Ezra has not been updating his blog lately. That probably means he’s been extra busy in Ukraine, but he did post this picture last month, taken during a tree-planting project he headed.
