Trends of globalization and localization are affecting societies around the
world and changing our understandings of citizenship. Similarly, increasing emphasis
on individualism has combined with changes in the role of the nation-state to
challenge our views of civic participation and mutual responsibility. The
Fifth Global Conference on National Youth Service explored the potential role
of NYS in nurturing a sense of civic responsibility among young people. The presenters
examined issues of volunteer and compulsory service, the interface between military
and civilian service, NYS as service learning and the roles of the governmental,
private and voluntary sectors in promoting civic responsibility through NYS. The
plenary discussion highlighted dilemmas such as the balance between responsibility
for global and local or national concerns, and the desirable emphasis in NYS between
the needs of the servers and the needs of the beneficiaries of service. Here
follows a summary of the conference session on civic responsibility.
William
James, in 'The Moral Equivalent of War' (1910), asked how society could capture
the noble qualities of war for peaceful service. He noted the principle of civic
responsibility inherent in military service when he listed these noble qualities
as 'contempt for softness, surrender of private interest, obedience to command'
[emphasis added]. In contrasting military and civilian service in this way,
James set up an opposition between them that has lasted to this day. This opposition
put National Civilian Service onto the wrong track, seen as being the opposite
of military service with all of its qualities. Civilian Service in the United
States started as an alternative to military service for conscientious objectors.
Conscientious objection had been recognized as early as the American Civil War,
and by the time of the First World War there were twenty thousand conscientious
objectors. These divided neatly into three kinds of objectors - those who would
serve as non-combatants, those who would serve in civilian roles, and those who
refused to serve in any capacity. The number of conscientious objectors fell between
the First and Second World Wars. In the Second World War 5,000 conscientious objectors
were imprisoned, while half of that number served in mental hospitals or subjected
themselves to medical experiments. After the Second World War however the numbers
of conscientious objectors rose sharply, and by the time of the Vietnam War secular/political
opposition to the war was considered sufficient grounds for the objector to be
allowed to serve in a civilian role. Secular resisters to military service had
slowly gained the same rights as religious objectors, but over the course of this
battle to avoid military service, civilian service had come to be seen more as
an avoidance of civic responsibility than a fulfillment of it. As well as
service that was given as an alternative to military service, a number of specifically
civilian service schemes have been operated over the years in the United States.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) operated during the Depression Era and slightly
beyond (1933-42), and involved three million people. It was administered by the
Army, and offered participants a $30 a month stipend, of which $20 was sent home
to the participant's family. The Peace Corps - the most famous of the civilian
service projects in the United States, despite its not being nearly the largest
- was founded in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. Following Kennedy's assassination
the Peace Corps came to be seen as a memorial for Kennedy, and has probably achieved
its longevity for this reason. The Peace Corps draws from a mainly upper-middle
class college constituency, enrolling 15,000 participants in 1966 - its peak year,
down to 7,000 by 1999. Lyndon B. Johnson founded Volunteers in Service to America
(VISTA) in 1964 as a domestic equivalent to the Peace Corps. Like the Peace Corps
it was cut back under Nixon, Reagan, and Bush, but unlike the Peace Corps it involves
mainly ethnic minority participants. AmeriCorps has superseded VISTA in many ways.
Started in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, today it involves around 40,000 participants,
two thirds of whom are women. Volunteers receive a $600 monthly stipend (which
is below the minimum wage), and after a year's service $4,725 of aid for college
tuition fees. This, as will be discussed below, impacts upon how the program is
viewed by both the right and left, and to what extent participants are seen as
fulfilling a civic responsibility. The conservative right have demonstrated
opposition to civilian service programs, arguing that they are not examples of
true voluntarism. If so-called volunteers receive stipends and college benefits
by participating in federal government programs then they aren't really fulfilling
any so-called civic responsibility. Volunteers, the argument goes, should volunteer
for free, survive on what little money they can get, and essentially be like Mother
Theresa. To continue along this religious line, many on the right are now calling
for civilian service to be performed through 'faith based organizations' (to use
the modern jargon) rather than government programs. The left have also demonstrated
opposition to civilian service programs, and again this has taken ideological
and practical form. On the ideological level there is an objection to the linking
of benefits to contribution. On the practical level, and this has been very powerful
in its effect, unions are opposed to NYS for fear that it will lead to unemployment
and lower pay. The army is another opponent of NYS, again for practical
reasons. In spite of data that shows that civilian service and military service
are drawing on fairly distinct population groups, the view of civilian service
as competition for military service persists. Thus the early view of civilian
service as something performed to avoid the civic responsibility of military service
is still having an impact. More generally a debate is being held about whether
civilian service might actually damage the country economically or militarily;
the clear assumption being that if it does, the claim that civilian service is
in fact a civic responsibility is rendered absurd. But despite institutional
opposition, the public appears to be generally supportive of civilian service,
which suggests it could come to be seen as part of the social contract. In a 1999
poll, 56% of the public approved of a mandatory youth service program for young
men, and 46% for young women, and this before any significant campaigning in favor
of the issue. In a 1995 Gallup poll, 40% of respondents favored linking federal
aid for college students to national service, as had been done after the Second
World War (1949) with the GI Bill. 50% of respondents in the Gallup poll were
against the linkage of aid to service, a figure perhaps swelled slightly by clear
opposition from higher educational institutions. Young people themselves are also
reasonably keen on civilian service - with 40% of men and 60% of women students
in a Northwestern University survey expressing an interest in participating in
a short-term (18-24 month) program. In Germany, where either military or
civilian service is mandatory for young men, over a third of young men choose
conscientious objector status and work in civilian positions (Zivildienst). However,
unlike in the United States, they can perform their service through religious
organizations, charities, or public institutions. It is because of the draft -
because it is made into a duty - that there are so many involved in civilian service
in Germany, and this civilian service involvement is one reason that many are
arguing in favor of keeping the draft at its present level. Military service
is premised on the idea that people have a certain duty, on the assumption that
the common good is more important than individual rights. Although civilian service
cannot, perhaps, be taken to this military extreme, we can see in the German model
the benefit that accrues to society where policy is made with an eye to the communitarian
thought that citizens have rights as well as responsibilities. With this thought
comes the corollary that the most important aspect of NYS is not the transformational
effect upon the young people themselves, but is the work that the young person
does. If civilian service is about the fulfillment of certain responsibilities,
then the most important thing about this service is what the young person contributes,
and not what they gain individually from their service. Just as an army does not
exist to develop soldiers as people, civilian service shouldn't exist to develop
young volunteers. Just as an army is supported because of its important primary
function, so too should be civilian service. There are two contradictory
trends in western democracies today. On the one hand there is a move away from
conscription, compulsion in general, and so from civilian service. Yet on the
other hand there is a growing concern in these same democratic societies that
contemporary youth are too steeped in consumerism and nearly drained of a shared
non-materialistic experience. If this is the case then instilling a sense of civic
responsibility in them might need to be made a policy priority. Which of these
opposing trends wins out will answer the question of whether or not national service
has a future.
National
Youth Service in Russia is influenced by government, the economy, business, NGOs,
and even by the portrayal of volunteering in the mass media. This is not that
different from anywhere else in the world. What is different from most places,
however, is the unique ideological background against which discussion of youth
service in the Former Soviet Union takes place. The Russian government offers
a number of youth service schemes, including educational exchange schemes, summer
schemes, and public building schemes. Businesses and NGOs support other schemes
and programs, such as youth volunteering projects in hospitals or in child education.
Due to Russia's Communist past, however, civic responsibility is not a particularly
well received idea. Moreover, with pressing economic and social problems, many
people - including the young - are hard-pressed to make ends meet. So young people
tend to focus on their own welfare, leaving NYS as the purview of only a few young
people who believe that they can change the situation in their country.
Without a significant economic and social change the development of civic responsibility
through NYS in Russia is a far off prospect. One of the necessary factors for
this social change to take effect, will be a change in the mass media towards
support of volunteerism and National Youth Service. "Pericles
knew that any successful society must be an educational institution. However great
its commitment to individual freedom and diversity, it needs a code of civic virtue
and a general devotion to the common enterprises without which it cannot flourish
or survive. It must transmit its understanding of good and bad and a sense of
pride, admiration, and love for its institutions and values to its citizens, especially
the young." (Donald Kagan: Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy) In
Britain at least there is disillusionment and disinterest amongst young people
about politics and politicians. Young people are reluctant to vote in elections,
and - as recent surveys have shown - hold politics and politicians in low regard.
Although many in Britain are mourning the apathy of youth, perhaps it is worth
considering that a true active citizenship must involve more than a rare vote
for an unrepresentative politician. The disinterest of youth (and to a
lesser extent the society as a whole) in the political process can have damaging
effects. If the work of politicians is not scrutinized, they can act irresponsibly.
In Britain a lack of civic responsibility led to a general acceptance of Thatcher's
rather improbable maxim 'there is no such thing as society' - leading in the 80s
and 90s to growing disparities between rich and poor, increased poverty, and the
decline of the inner cities. Civic duty places responsibilities on all citizens
to look after others as well as to look after themselves - only asserting strongly
that not only is there such a thing as society but belonging to it obligates members
in certain ways. Civic responsibility ought to be directed not only towards people
in need but also to the needs of the environment, buildings and public spaces,
arts, culture and heritage, and minority groups. Citizens would thus ensure that
society could flourish. Ideally this would be done not just by paying taxes, or
even by making charitable donations, but also by giving time. Greater selflessness,
and engagement in social structures is thereby encouraged. This work ought to
be supported by Government, who should welcome communal involvement in the provision
of services, and seek merely to promote and monitor this kind of volunteerism. Young
people are not engaged with political structures and yet society generally is
in need of a far greater level of social involvement from its citizens. Greater
social involvement will come only when citizens accept a greater level of civic
responsibility. So in order for young people to learn civil responsibility, and
to understand their own civil rights, they need to become actively engaged through
getting 'hands on' experience of how social systems actually work. National
Youth Service is a crucial tool for young people's learning, and it is ideal for
teaching them a sense of civic responsibility. Through NYS young people experience
first-hand the processes at work in society, so that they can learn to value those
they approve of, and aim to reform, adapt, or discard those they do not. Through
NYS young people can meet and work alongside people from different cultures and
communities, again strengthening societal bonds. When young people learn tolerance,
understanding, and the value of multi-culturalism within society, they are likely
to feel a greater sense of civic responsibility. The question of course
remains whether young people themselves are interested in performing NYS. When
offered the opportunity to volunteer young people can be reluctant, however keen
they are on attendant benefits such as public speaking training. But this reluctance
is almost precisely the point, and demonstrates why NYS - and notions such as
citizenship education in the national curriculum - need to be promoted. We
have seen that if society is to flourish the basic civic duty of being a good
neighbor needs to be encouraged. NYS is one of the best ways to do this. Fear,
suspicion, and ignorance are the consequences for a society that neglects teaching
its young people about respect for themselves and others. "I could see no lines on the face of the Earth"
(Neil Armstrong) For young people to demonstrate a sense of civil responsibility
they need to understand what the needs of society are. Being truly responsible
for something means understanding its needs and attempting to provide for these
needs. A political dimension to National Youth Service is therefore inevitable,
as NYS is concerned with encouraging young people to become better citizens by
learning and exhibiting a sense of civic responsibility. The Stockholm
Institute has estimated that since the Second World War there have been around
320 wars. UNESCO claims that 'war begins in the minds of the people'. Certainly
many wars are started due to mutual hatreds, and others are started for reasons
of greed or shortage of resources. Yet at the same time North America holds 4%
of the world's population, but consumes over 40% of its resources. It is clear
that if the populations of China or India wanted to consume in the same way the
world simply could not sustain them for very long. The world is such that it is
no longer possible for everybody to gain satisfaction through meeting their greed,
but rather they must decrease their wants, and even their needs. It is said
that the ideal citizen is a citizen who is a satisfied person. That is not to
say that the ideal citizen does not try to improve sub-standard public services
or such like, rather that the ideal citizen is aware of the needs of the world,
of the limits on the world, and adapts accordingly. The world has numerous problems,
primarily a rapidly expanding population, pollution, nuclear power, poverty, and
a lack of peace. These problems will not be solved without a widening of the circle
of concern to include those from other countries and cultures. National
Youth Service has the potential to contribute greatly to solving the world's problems.
But for this to be done, civic responsibility needs to be seen as responsibility
within the context of a greatly interconnected system, where over consumption
and greed in one country will lead to problems in others. The best
way of developing civic responsibility amongst young people is to give them the
opportunity to become active citizens in their own community. In France this has
previously been done through mandatory forms of civilian service. Young people
served as police and fire brigade auxiliaries, giving help to the disabled, working
in the international co-operation service, and in projects that aimed to provide
social cohesion in disadvantaged areas. Following the suspension of conscription
(which will take effect at the end of 2002) three new forms of national civilian
service were created, in defense security and prevention, social cohesion and
solidarity, and international co-operation and humanitarian aid. The civilian
forms of national service in France had represented ten percent of the draft;
many young people have the will and enthusiasm to demonstrate their commitment
to society and to fulfil their civic responsibility. Although these forms of civilian
service are to be voluntary, there is still a reasonable hope that they will attract
large numbers of volunteers. In addition to setting up full time, 6-24
month volunteer schemes, France is experimenting with service learning programs.
Three towns in eastern France will participate in an experiment designed to find
the impact of students' volunteering as part of their university courses. Both
service learning and civilian service volunteer schemes are designed with a dual
function in mind. Firstly the schemes contribute something directly to society.
Secondly though, they develop the participants. Not only do participants develop
certain skills and experience, but also, through serving others, their attitudes
change. By participating in service schemes young people develop a sense of civic
responsibility, and this can allow society to flourish. * A sense of civic responsibility does not
necessarily follow from participation in a civilian service program. Rather it
will develop if the program is of a sufficiently high quality, with a high quality
of leader or supervisor making explicit some of the lessons that might otherwise
only be left implicit. * National Youth Service is successful when participants
are performing meaningful tasks. Where work placements are not 'real', young people
quickly become disillusioned with their scheme. Which tasks are actually meaningful
depends upon which meet the needs - both real and perceived - of society. These
needs need to be explicit and well articulated, so that program participants are
motivated to meet them. The policy areas that are given priority by NYS schemes
should not be dictated to young people but rather decided in partnership between
governments, NYS program providers, and young people, particularly because young
people often share a reasonably distinct set of concerns. * There is something
of a conflict when it comes to the correct circle of concern for NYS schemes.
On the one hand, as mentioned above, NYS needs to achieve something that has a
clear and real impact. This can be much easier to see in a small country or community.
On the other hand, given that many of the world's problems are at the international
level, perhaps it is most appropriate that young people develop a sense of responsibility
on the global scale. Difficulties arise when trying to design programs that both
encourage involvement on an international level, and allow participants to make
a clear impact on some social problem. * A sense of civic responsibility,
however clearly articulated the need, isn't necessarily enough to engage young
people. Most young people want to be able to feel that they are gaining on a personal
level from their participation in a program. This has practical effects when it
comes to program design. Programs must both meet a clearly articulated need, and
allow young people to feel that they are developing. This might mean offering
training or certain levels of organized entertainment or social time within programs.
There is a risk however that if programs are designed to 'give' to the young person
the young person will be a service user rather than a service giver. This kind
of program is unlikely to develop a sense of civic responsibility in young people. "Informative and helpful. To me, NYS doesn't have to be seen
necessarily as opposite or merely complimentary to military service. In countries
like Costa Rica, youth service is not one or the other". "Excellent review
and analysis of the US case over 40 years, highlighting social policy issues". "I
had a problem with the statement of the issues. Believe the group did too. The
real issue was motivation. Discussion was interesting but unfocused leading to
somewhat superficial conclusions / recommendations". |