Candidates McCain and Obama have both served their country through service, but the differences in how they served define them. At the crux of McCain's military record is the senator's belief in a "cause greater than oneself." At the heart of Obama's record of community service is a belief in the concept that a rising tide lifts all boats. Military service, by its nature, is authoritarian and top-down; the nature of community service is democratic and bottom-up. It's a stark contrast and says a lot about how each candidate would govern.
Neither of the senators argued this point of divergence at the Service Nation forum held just a couple of weeks ago. Both support service to one's country, though it is clear from their experience what their priorities are and will be if elected.
Even at Friday's debate, these differences were apparent -- Obama made multiple references to Main Street and the middle class while McCain continued to talk about taxes and cuts to spending. McCain went as far as suggesting a "spending freeze on everything but defense, veteran affairs, and entitlements" until the economic mess was cleaned up. Obama characterized that approach as "using a hatchet when you need a scalpel."
The Service Nation concept is a grass-roots effort and in spirit and outlook, it is more in tune with Obama's philosophy. What it has done is to coalesce over 100 service organizations (and counting) and provide them with a platform and tools for recruiting volunteers. In fact, the way the group has organized its web site and the web tools it offers are similar to the approach the Obama campaign has taken from the start. Both use the Internet to leverage grass-roots support. It is not because Service Nation is endorsing any one candidate; they have taken great pains to be bipartisan. After all, soup kitchens don't ask their volunteers to declare their political affiliations; nor do military recruiters ask their volunteers whether they are Democrats or Republicans. In either endeavor, volunteers check their politics at the door.
But that doesn't mean that volunteers in these organizations are not influenced by their experience of service. Again, it's a top down versus bottom up experience.
At its launch, Service Nation had already planned a Day of Action, scheduled for Saturday, September 27. Other major service organizations joined them: Apollo Alliance, Green Jobs National Day of Action, Urban Agenda. Many of these groups and their affiliates are also part of the "We Campaign," a project of The Alliance for Climate Protection that was founded by Al Gore.
The organizations don't have a political framework, but they have a point of view and they do want to influence policy regardless of who is elected. Apollo Alliance, for example, advised on their web site: "On September 26, we will watch the first presidential debate of this election. The next day, the candidates will watch us. On Saturday, September 27, we're launching a national mobilization to say, "I'm ready for the green economy." [emphasis in original text] We are ready to tackle the climate crisis by building a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty."
It was no accident that the Day of Action was planned to follow the first presidential debate. The 27th was also National Public Lands Day, which opened the door for many additional conservation groups to try to add to their rosters. What Service Nation has done is to supply the tools to make the process of volunteering and getting involved easier. The sign-up tools were posted on their web site and over 2000 events were listed, sponsored by hundreds of service organizations.
So what kinds of events and activities were scheduled for the "Day of Action"? The exhaustive list ranged from tutoring children, to feeding the homeless, to cleaning highways; most of these events involved hands-on volunteerism, giving people an opportunity to do something worthwhile for a day or even a few hours, and perhaps get involved on a long-term basis. Not all volunteers have to get their hands dirty, at least not literally; there's plenty of other work to be done. Given the list of sponsors, there are a lot of choices. The role of Service Nation is to help foster a sense of pride in volunteering. There are many in the S-generation range (18-29) who make this kind of work a source of pride; it is a mark of distinction that they wear proudly.
On a rainy Saturday in New York City, some of the outdoor events had to be rescheduled, but there were signs of success in other quarters. An event sponsored by the Coalition for the Homeless was held in an Upper West Side church that hosts a homeless shelter and soup kitchen; a dozen or more volunteers showed up. They didn't know before-hand what they would be asked to do, but they didn't care. They were there to help.
The church had undergone a recent renovation in one part of the building, but ran out of money to complete the clean-up. So these young men and women worked chain-gang like to pick up the rocks and concrete debris and store it neatly in big garbage containers where the sanitation department ultimately will be able to collect it. The volunteers did not mind literally getting their hands dirty. There was a spirit of camaraderie that infused the group and their mission.
A few of the volunteers had known each other through their past volunteer experiences; a few were graduates of AmeriCorps. A high school senior, Doug Thoen, traveled to the city from Westchester to volunteer. A stranger to the group but not a stranger to volunteering, Thoen has spent time during summer vacations helping to clean up the Appalachian Trail. He volunteers regularly when he can. "If kids knew how they could build relationships with others by volunteering, they would become involved," he said. "Volunteering is a great way to make friends." He sees it as a win-win situation. He came here because there weren't enough opportunities for him to do volunteering in his own community, he explained.
What did these volunteers think about the election? All were staunch supporters of Obama. They were clear that their volunteerism had nothing to do with his candidacy, but they were very much aware of how the Obama platform resonates with their own values. One volunteer explained that she was horrified at McCain's suggested spending freeze at the debate the previous evening. These were clearly S-gen folks who follow politics and have a stake in the election, but they will continue to do what they do regardless of the outcome.
On the other hand, Jim Pearl, organizer of an event held in Michigan said his group, Monday Morning Group and Hands-On Battle Creek, was decidedly nonpartisan. At their Saturday event, about 30 people of all ages joined together to clean up graffiti in the city. Besides the volunteers, the event was also attended by the mayor, the city's prosecuting attorney, and member of the local police force. The groups chose Saturday to hold their clean-up day because of Service Nation's call for action. The declaration of service and the solidarity of support garnered through the Service Nation made sense for them. They did get a few new volunteers through the Service Nation web site listing, but the bulk of their volunteers were people who already were part of their organizations.
The synergy among service organizations is nothing new, but Service Nation is in the process of putting service back on the national agenda. It is a concept that has been missing from our public discourse since the JFK era, when "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" became popular. In these efforts, Service Nation has enlisted supporters from both sides of the aisle.
While Obama has been able to tap into the youth movement, both because of his own youth and his background in community service, he has also hit a nerve with a large majority of Americans who are upset about the direction the country has taken in the last eight years. His candidacy has come along at a time when there is a hunger for change and unity. The theme of change, hope, and a can-do spirit are positive messages, ones that are also largely visible in the service movement and volunteerism in general.
Obama understands that community isn't just a place, it's a connected network, and he has built that network through the power of the internet. Service Nation takes that concept one step further: when you sign up to volunteer through the Internet, you eventually leave your computer behind to meet face-to-face in the real world where there are real problems that can't be solved by virtual people. It is that spirit that Service Nation is promoting and many of its organizers and supporters want it written into national policy. How that will happen, whether through the newly created Kennedy-Hatch bill or other legislation, may be dependent on not only who is in the White House come January, but the condition the economy and what role service is to play in addressing it.