Something Larger than Ourselves: Chris Dodd Announces his 'American Community Initiative'

As I noted in last Friday's Around the Tubes, Senetor Chris Dodd (D-CT), who is running for President, announced his National Service Agenda this weekend, and I am impressed.

Here are some of the plan's highlights:

• Promote the Corporation for National Service (CNS) to Cabinet Status. Through Executive Order, in a Dodd Administration, the Executive Director of the Corporation for National Service will be part of the Cabinet.

• Mandate School-Based Service as a Requirement for High School Graduation. Under the Dodd plan, every student in America will be required to perform 100 hours of community-based service prior to high school graduation.
• Double the Size of the Peace Corps by 2011 and Again by 2050. As President, Chris Dodd will double the number of Peace Corps volunteers, expand the number of countries in which volunteers are stationed and provide opportunities for Peace Corps volunteers to serve in their local communities when they return home.
• Dramatically increase the number of AmeriCorps Members to 1,000,000 and immediately raise the amount of the education award.. The Dodd plan will significantly increase the number of AmeriCorps volunteers and will annually increase the education award to reflect the skyrocketing cost of tuition.
• Create a Rapid Response Reserve Corps. Dodd's Rapid Response Reserve Corps will mobilize national service program alumni, as well as retired military and National Guard personnel, to respond to national disasters.

This plan is (imo) great for many reasons. First of all, as we like to point out on this site on a regular basis: young people are not apathetic, disengaged, slackers who are unwilling to do selfless work Instead, young people are volunteering in record numbers, but they do sometimes lack access to meaningful programs. We also have a great amount of need in our communities for the energy and excitement young people bring to civic project, and so this seems like a perfect way to engage young people and help our communities at the same time.

Second, I obviously think that it is extremely important for politicians to enact legislation that makes a positive impact on young people's lives and if Democrats want to ride the wave of youth interest in, and engagement of, the political process they're going to have to take the lead. Senator Dodd seems genuinely concerned about the problems facing young people and I really hope that youth focused groups bring attention to the legislation that Dodd is pushing for, which can give younger voters a reason to vote.

I really think that the focus on patriotism and working to improve our communities and our nation, rather than an overtly partisan appeal, is both effective and needed. Most young people who are volunteering do so to help out others and/or feel like a part of something bigger, and this type of appeal should resonate broadly and cut through the cynicism that I assume some feel when they hear political appeals like this. I personally always dreamed of joining the Peace Corps or doing some form of national service, but the opportunities never seemed real enough. I also feel a great pride in my community and my nation, and I would have (and still would) love to show that love by giving back in some non-military fashion. While I usually flinch at attempts to move past partisanship, when it comes to doing something that helps the greater good I believe that most people can agree to come together and work to make things better. (Please don't queue kumbaya )

What separates this plan, imo, from John Edward's OneCorps is that Edward's site focuses a little too much on the candidate and not enough on the overall mission,. This is one reason why I'd guess there aren't many young people pictured on the OneCorps site, and it's definitely the reason that I never really considered working through OneCorps.

There's a lot more to discuss about Dodd's plan, and about the virtues of national service in general, but I'll have to leave it for now. What do you think about this plan?

Below is the video of Dodd's announcement, the text can be found here.