I’m planning to vote for Barack Obama because he asks us to look past our differences and find common ground. We have real differences—and a lot of things are worth disagreeing on, but it’s insane to try to create fake disagreements. I don’t think a persuasive message of unity will suddenly create a nation of sunshine and puppy-dogs, but I would be willing to settle for fewer fights over nothing.
Speaking of fights over nothing, I’m a bit stunned by some conservative reactions to one of Obama’s recent statements: He said, in part:
“[W]hen I’m President, I will set a goal for all American middle and high school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all college students to perform 100 hours of service a year. This means that by the time you graduate college, you’ll have done 17 weeks of service.
“We’ll reach this goal in several ways. At the middle and high school level, we’ll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities.”This apparently freaked out one of McCain’s more articulate supporters on Tumblr. SDS, wrote:
The Obamas’ rhetoric troubles me on the policy front, but my aversion gets even more acute at the philosophical level. The above quote, for example, may not seem invidious on its face—and indeed, more youthful community service is a worthy and high-minded goal to have. But I believe the federal government should not force it on students. Besides, it probably doesn’t work. Powerline (hat tip for the headline) nails it in the conclusion:
Modern-day liberals are expert in finding small ways to extend the power of the government and to diminish individual freedom. And they specialize in using deficiencies they have helped create as their pretext. Under the influence of liberal administrators and teachers whose approval of this country is less than wholehearted, our schools probably aren’t doing as good a job at “teaching young Americans to take citizenship seriously” as they used to. Americans sense the change. The liberal solution — meddle in the lives of students outside the classroom.
Obama’s prescription for change always seems to include government expansion into our lives. “We will ask Americans to serve, [and] this will be a central cause of my presidency,” writes Obama in the same speech. And later on:
“[G]overnment depends not just on the consent of the governed, but on the service of citizens. That’s what history calls us to do. Because loving your country shouldn’t just mean watching fireworks on the 4th of July. Loving your country must mean accepting your responsibility to do your part to change it. If you do, your life will be richer, and our country will be stronger.
All true. But I have the right not to be a responsible citizen. Aristotle wrote that private property allows for virtue, and I would expand that to freedom in general. The state cannot and should not force virtue on its citizens.
Perhaps somebody can clarify this for me. Who is proposing forcing students to do anything? Under Obama’s plan, schools would develop service programs. They would also have funding to make service opportunities available. This does not mean that any school would have to force any student to do anything. Were I feeling particularly partisan, I might allege that the political right is so seeped in concepts of force and coercion that it lacks the capacity to see anything else. But I suspect it is mostly a case of hearing what it wants to hear rather than what was actually said.
I did not really have a community service program in high school. On the other hand, I had a number of opportunities through the Boy Scouts. And if you couldn’t meet the required amount of community service for an advancement, you were the lamest scout ever. Carolyn’s high school did have a service requirement. (She apparently has a few things to say on the topic—and perhaps will later). You needed to do six hours of service a year. A whopping six. But a good 20% did at least a hundred hours of community service. This wasn’t because it was required—it was because the opportunity was there and recognition was given for those who did it.
As SDS wrote, there is a right not to be a responsible citizen. But most people do want to be responsible citizens. Most students are willing to stretch themselves if the opportunity is presented. Some students won’t want to do any additional service. But if they are asked to and encouraged to, most will. Obama’s plan does not require any sort of minimum amount of service. (Some schools might, if they think that is the best approach, but this would be purely a local decision.) The plan benefits communities, by offering enthusiastic students. The plan benefits students, by encouraging them to fulfill a meaningful roll in their communities. Best of all, it doesn’t force anybody to do anything. What does it say about the state of our politics that people would somehow find this too coercive?
say what you will about this being just a “goal”, or “just like in boy scouts!”, this still scares me. this may have just tipped me from undecided-leaning-mccain to certain i’m going to vote for mccain. what a nutjob!
