A government is like any other living thing. Its exists as long as its constituent parts perform their functions. Since our government claims to be a republic (i.e. democracy), it cannot openly coerce individuals to play their roles, but instead it must rely on their good will. The article seems to associate the decline of volunteer service with the decline of the nation itself. Ignoring the premise’s extremity, it seems accurate. Our nation was founded by volunteers: the minutemen at Lexington and Concord and others who dealt with Tory sentiments.
The article suggests several cost-effective social initiatives to improve national service. Volunteers help reach people who have fallen through our bureaucracy’s cracks, revitalize aging infrastructure, and, most importantly, improve our education system. Knowledge is power. The only way to alleviate present problems is to understand them. Human stupidity is magnified in large numbers via tunnel vision. Giving individual citizens the knowledge to make educated decisions is the only way to seek current flaws in our system.
No man is an island. Man cannot be defined by only himself; he is known to be human only through his interactions with others. While some may argue this is just “busy work,” volunteer experiences will help us better understand each other. While this article was published in 2007, it still holds relevance today by providing a practical and idealistic solution to the stagnancy plaguing our nation today.
