Someone in Congress wants to bring back the draft.
His name is Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), and, in 2003, he introduced the Universal National Service Act. If passed, the act would have required all Americans between 18 and 26 to serve a two-year period of military or civilian service. It failed. Badly. And, in February of this year, Rangel re-introduced the legislation.
To be fair, Rangel knew the legislation was not going to pass. He figured lawmakers might treat the war in Iraq differently if their own children were participating.
But this legislation certainly gets my vote of support. Let's make it mandatory to serve the country; let's compel our population to serve and defend the United States. For two years.
And let's expand our definition of "serve" and "defend" while we're at it. Obviously Rangel had something in mind when he added "civilian service."
There are a lot of things other than terrorists and extremists that we need defending from: poverty, homelessness and illiteracy. What if Americans had the option of defending our country by performing public service here at home?
Many of us already are. Between 2002 and 2005, we've seen a major increase in the number of Americans volunteering - a 5.6 million person increase, to be exact. This brings our national volunteer rate to 28.8 percent. That's nearly one in three Americans. In Utah, the top-ranking volunteer state, 48 percent of citizens volunteer. The Peace Corps is currently experiencing the highest number of volunteers in its 30-year existence.
I'm impressed with us. I'm even more impressed with the federal organization of volunteerism.
President Bush proposed the USA Freedom Corps in his 2002 State of the Union address, where he specifically called on Americans to serve their country. "My call tonight is for every American to commit at least two years - 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime - to the service of your neighbors and your nation," he declared.
His words remind us about our accountability to each other as Americans and even as humans. A national service requirement would instill a much-needed sense of responsibility.
Imagine what could be accomplished in 4,000 hours. High-school graduates who do not intend to go to college could learn skills and gain experience for vocational jobs by rebuilding homes for disaster victims. Americans could boost our image abroad by serving time in the developing world. The president specifically called for service to the country. It's one step beyond volunteering, and we're very close.
The USA Freedom Corps now encompasses lots of "corps," such as AmeriCorps, the Citizen Corps and, perhaps the most well-known, the Peace Corps. Each has its own volunteer role, such as education, public safety, emergency preparedness or service in the developing world.
Within each organization, programs pair willing volunteers with service projects. Volunteers with AmeriCorps*VISTA are placed in institutions such as public agencies or universities for one year of service.
While the existing corps are not designed to accommodate all Americans, they do reflect a response to our increased desire to serve the country. Perhaps more important, the programs reflect a great diversity of opportunities on par with America's own diversity.
Penn has our own AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer.
Briana Niblick - who receives a living stipend - is based in Civic House, and her role is to collaborate with students, Penn centers and the West Philadelphia community to assess the current state of community service, identify opportunities for collaboration and develop new programming.
Niblick said she has gained much from her experience here. But she doesn't think the program is for everyone and doesn't support the creation of a national service requirement. "You can't just be selected randomly for AmeriCorps," she said.
True, AmeriCorps probably isn't for everyone. But I have no doubt we can find ways to utilize able bodies in ways that will benefit all Americans - the opportunities are endless.
That sounds like a point worth making in Congress.
Sarah Rothman is a fifth-year Bioengineering Ph.D. candidate and 2002 Engineering alumna from Fayetteville, N.Y. The Sounds of Science appears on Mondays. Her e-mail address is rothman@dailypennsylvanian.com.
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