Speaking on CNN about National Service after 9/11
We had a draft in this country for, as you point yourself, more than 30 years, in times of war and in times of peace. And there was a universal expectation there that young people of all walks of life, of all backgrounds, of all colors, would come and serve their country.
You know, they even drafted Elvis. Why not today, as we have the specter of September 11, but we also have the specter of huge, unmet needs in this country? Why can't we have young people devoting themselves to national service? We already see huge expansions of Americorp. We see huge numbers of young people involved in their communities, involved in volunteering, hungering for something bigger than themselves, something they could really devote themselves to.
I think that this is not just about stateism. It's about really the idea that you have certain obligations to your country, that there is a basic bargain at the heart of what it means to be an American, that along with of the rights that we all celebrate, there are responsibilities. And one is to give back to your country.
[CONTINUES]
It's certainly not going to happen overnight. This is not something that we can snap our fingers and tomorrow, have a huge draft of 4 million young people a year or even more.
The fact of the matter is, there are extremes of both parts of the political spectrum that are opposed to it. There are those on the left who believe that we don't really have any obligations to one other. That we have the freedom to say and do whatever we please. We could shout "fire" and any other four letter word beginning you with "F" in a quiet theater.
There are those on the right, unfortunately, [that] believe that we don't have any obligations as citizens or as corporations to the larger community. I just think it's awfully problematic to call this idea of serving your country slavery. I think it's offensive to the young people, the 18- year-olds who were conscripted, who were drafted, who landed on the beaches of Normandy. The 18-year olds and the 20-year holds who died at Gettysburg, I don't think they consider themselves slaves.
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