Mandatory Service - a solution

A piece that I heard on NPR over the weekend brought an old idea of mine back to my consciousness.  I think the piece was on the Bob Edwards program on Sunday morning and he was interviewing a retired Army colonel who has recently written a book about the status of the country and the military.  This person is now a professor at a prestigious school out East, perhaps Harvard, I can’t quite remember and haven’t gone back to check.  Not that important to me.

His focus was on the difference in our Army between now and WWII and the Korean War times.  We had an Army created by the draft then, and prior, and everyone served, there basically few exemptions (even conscientious objectors had to perform alternate service).  The Kennedy boys served (one was killed and one injured severely); Ted Williams, one of the greatest baseball players of all time, flew fighter planes for four years; movie folks served; and, even a few years later, Elvis Presley was drafted and served two years.

The point was that the whole country was invested in the wars - everyone sacrificed and served.  There was a selflessness that existed and that created strength of effort and consensus.

Over the years we have become a selfish society.  Materialism reigns.  What is in it for me?  While individualism has many good aspects to it, such as creativity and independent thought, it has also tended to break down the existence and our sense of community.  We are so busy worrying about ourselves that we do not see the bigger picture and the needs of others who are lacking the basic protections and benefits of society.

This can go in many directions, but today I wish to follow up on the colonel’s thoughts alone.  He was proposing that we should not have an all-volunteer military force because what that basically does is exclude a vast majority of the population from participating in the nation’s defense and therefore the possibility of the ultimate sacrifice for your country.  With all of our injuries and deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, I think that in all of the Congress, there was one relative who served.  How many of the infamous top 1% do you think has served or is serving?  Even how many of the shrinking middle class do you think has volunteered for service?

Since such a small part of our people serves, only a small part cares.  And, since that small part is generally the lower economic folks, they have hardly any political clout.

I agree this is a problem.  But we have many service needs in addition to the military.  I have been in favor of mandatory service for all persons at the age of eighteen for many, many years, but of course I have no particular forum from which to advocate.  So today I do that here.

Mandatory service at eighteen, for two years, can be good for all of those young people and for our country.  For young folks, it provides an opportunity to serve others, to mature and recognize that there are many needs in our communities.  It can provide employment, training, empathy, stability, different experiences, a chance to interface with others of different backgrounds and values.  For the country it can create a better sense of awareness in its citizens, a closer feeling of community and responsibility, a source to provide services to all citizens at a lower cost, and having a citizenry that is invested in improving the country and holding its decision-makers responsible.

Everywhere there is a need; there is an opportunity to serve.  We have had Volunteers in Service to America for many years, the Peace Corps, Teach for America, Project Head Start, and other organizations designed to help our citizens and citizens of the world.  During the depression, Roosevelt started many such organizations, such as the CCC and the WPA's Federal Art Project, to help people and communities.

We do not have a Great Depression today, but we do have unemployment that is much higher than it has been for many years.  One segment of our society, our youth, has suffered such that the future of our country and its work force is threatened. 

I think that mandatory service will help young folks mature and have empathy, but it also will provide work, wages, and skills for many.  It will also provide a sense of pride and worth.

Like all things today, there are no simple answers or easy ways to implement such a program.  But it is worth starting and working on until completion.

I will write more later.  What do you think?

Take care.

Medical Insurance

I am taking a look at health care and health insurance today.  Admittedly this is a complex topic but it is one we should try to understand and support positive changes/improvements for all citizens.  You have already seen all of the studies which show that, in the world, the US ranks down between 25th to 40th in most of the health care areas; e.g., women's health care, pre-natal and infant care. etc.

Below is information based upon a survey done by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.  These numbers are straight forward.  People who are not sick and those who have been sick within the last year see the quality of health care see the quality and cost getting worse.

Compared to the "not sick" people in our poll, Americans who've been sick in the past 12 months ... 


See the quality of health care as a very serious problem:


          Not sick  31%
          Sick        45%


See the cost of health care as a very serious problem:


          Not sick   61%
          Sick         73%


Think the quality of health care has gotten worse in the past five years:


          Not sick   22%
          Sick         32%


Think the cost of health care has gotten worse in the past five years:


          Not sick   62%
          Sick         70%

Source: NPR/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Poll

Credit: Alyson Hurt/Nelson Hsu, NPR


So you can see that there is plenty of concern about the affordability and availability of health care.  Obama care was passed to address these concerns, but now our Supreme Court may be striking down all or part of the law.


There is a need for comprehensive coverage for health insurance and it must be affordable.


Please see the following link for information regarding those that are not covered.  Please note that while this is from a government website, the sources are a variety of non-governmental institutions with credibility.  Pre-existing conditions, unattainable health coverage, and losing coverage are three serious problems that affect millions of people that need to be resolved.  Obama care attempts to resolve these issues.


http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/denied_coverage/index.html


There are literally millions who are not covered.  This is not right in the richest country in the world.


There are also concerns about coverage that women have in this country.  Please see the following link that gives you the impact on women's health by the time the new law is fully implemented in 2014.  Table 1 is illustrative of how many women from 18 to 64, state by state, who are not insured and would be covered in 2014 under Obama care.  Most of the states would be able to cover 90% or more of the women currently not insured.  A tremendous improvement!  This is from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and is quite lengthy.

http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/upload/7987-02.pdf


Of course there are many other sources that provide figures concerning the lack of coverage and the cost of health.  One fact is that those who do not have coverage and therefore do not get treatment until they have a serious medical condition that costs the medical care system a tremendous amount of money to treat.  This situation also fosters continuing illnesses and affects the health, well being, and productiveness of our population.  We need to implement, not tear down, the current law (Obama Care) and do even more.  We can not be a strong country if our people are sick.


A final point, which I will come back to at a later date, is that a large segment of the population, generally the young and healthy, are strongly opposed to the current law being fully implemented because they don't want to pay for something that they are not using.  Twenty and Thirty somethings usually do not see a doctor very regularly because they are healthy.  However, there are exceptions, such as those with chronic diseases and those who have disabling accidents.


Basically these folks are being selfish and are not thinking of the community that they live in, be that defined as a local town, their state, or their country.  This country has become strong because of many sacrifices people have made over time.  A current example is that only .5% of the population has served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars - risked their lives, lost their lives, or sacrificed part of their lives for the cause of the country.


We need to do what is right for the basic welfare of all of our people.


Take care.

Thought for the Day

“The moon looks wonderful in this warm evening light, just as a candle flame looks beautiful in the light of morning. Light within light...It seems to me to be a metaphor for the human soul, the singular light within that great general light of existence.”

 Marilynne Robinson, from Gilead

An uplifting thought today instead of a comment on our political process or the culture of our community.

When we get down to basics, all folks have a light within them that can brighten their own lives and also of those around them.  It is soft and warm and kind.  It can perform miracles between people and can provide comfort in times of need.  I believe that it is innate to our species and is what is called following God's word and way in many religions.

That is why I always have hope for the future.  We as individuals can impact our own destiny in a positive way.  We can be happy.  We can help those around us.  We can do this intellectually and emotionally; culturally and artistically; physically and spiritually; in whatever way we are talented and motivated.  It does happen everyday. 

And this exists in the light of our community, whether that be our family, our friends, our neighborhood, our religious organization, city, country, or the world - any or all of these communities.  There is a force there that works for good and the well-being of all, and it is something that we must seek out and join.  Communities do make a difference and can overcome great obstacles.  Communities can make a bigger impact than an individual, and that is why we need to come together in love. 

All communities have strengths and weaknesses, and help is there - it does happen everyday.

What do you think?  How are you part of the light?

Take care.