American schoolchildren take a pledge that includes the words, “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” The signers of the Declaration of Independence swelled the chorus of union with the final words, “we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.”
Throughout American history, we have been at our best when we have tackled tough problems together. That sense of shared responsibility has made our nation great since the Revolution, through two world wars and after 9/11.
Today we face profound challenges but lack common purpose. Larger divides in society — regional, racial, religious and economic — overshadow the values that unite us. Heightened divisions promote dysfunction in Washington and fear in places like Charlottesville, Ferguson and Phoenix.
To heal our broken system, we need concrete ways to reconnect Americans to one another and rekindle a sense of shared responsibility. That spirit shines in our military. With a powerful commitment to mission comes something more — unparalleled loyalty to others in your unit, regardless of their background, that lasts long after you have left active duty.
We have seen that happen in another American institution: civilian national service. Programs like AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, YouthBuild and the National Civilian Community Corps engage Americans in a year or two of work toward the common good for a living stipend, and, in some cases, an education scholarship.
Aleya Miller, who served with Habitat for Humanity’s New Orleans AmeriCorps program, said it best: “I was able to meet people from all over the country, and even though I sometimes had nothing in common with them, we bonded during our year of service because it’s such a unique experience to share.”
Habitat for Humanity teams that served in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hold regular reunions. So do National Civilian Community Corps crews, returned Peace Corps volunteers and alums of City Year, another national service program. “Seeing everyone back and working together served as a powerful reminder of how transformative AmeriCorps was for the group, how much it continues to bind us to each other,” noted reunion organizer Brendan Gordon.
Studies prove this point: Most AmeriCorps members feel more comfortable interacting with others different from themselves postservice, and believe their national service experience broadened their understanding of society and different communities.
Few if any other institutions form these powerful connections across heterogeneous Americans and people from other countries. As America becomes more diverse, its neighborhoods, schools and other institutions are becoming more segregated. In fact, data show that 75% of whites have entirely white social networks. It’s not surprising that social trust is at historic lows.
Polling by Service Year Alliance, a non-profit promoting national service headed by retired four-star Gen. Stanley McChrystal, shows that young adults of all backgrounds want to serve. They represent all regions of the country, all races and ethnicities, all political perspectives. Serving together, they would form the little platoons of civil society that would make our communities better and our democracy stronger.
Unfortunately, many of them won’t get the chance. Today, only about 200,000 enlist in the military or become officer candidates each year. Even fewer Americans — fewer than 75,000 each year — have the chance to do a year of full-time civilian national service, and the largest funding stream, AmeriCorps, was eliminated in the President’s budget.
What if, instead, every American had the option to serve after high school or college?
We would boost social trust, restore confidence in our ability to solve public problems and promote human-to-human connections across political divides that could profoundly change American society for the better.
America has big challenges to tackle: rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey; restoring our crumbling infrastructure; educating millions of students at risk of dropping out; securing healthy futures for 15 million children living below the poverty line and 75 million aging baby boomers, and preparing millions of Americans who have been left behind to thrive in the new economy.
What if we dedicated 1% of public budgets targeted at these challenges to tap the talents and commitment of young Americans willing to give a year of their lives to help? Not only could we save taxpayer dollars. American schoolchildren could once again recite with pride a pledge to a nation they can serve.
Bridgeland helped President George W. Bush start the Freedom Corps and is now president of Civic Enterprises and vice chairman of Service Year Alliance. Sagawa helped President Bill Clinton start AmeriCorps and is now CEO of Service Year Alliance.
