Expanded Americorps has an authoritarian feel
By Examiner Editorial
- 3/26/09
With almost no public attention, both chambers of Congress in the past week
advanced an alarming expansion of the Americorps national service plan, with
the number of federally funded community service job increasing from 75,000 to
250,000 at a cost of $5.7 billion. Lurking behind the feel-good rhetoric
spouted by the measure’s advocates is a bill that on closer inspection reveals
multiple provisions that together create a strong odor of creepy
authoritarianism. The House passed the measure overwhelmingly, while only 14
senators had the sense and courage to vote against it on a key procedural
motion. Every legislator who either voted for this bill or didn’t vote at all
has some serious explaining to do.
Last summer, then-candidate Barack Obama threw civil liberties to the wind
when he proposed “a civilian national security force that’s just as
powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded” as the regular military. The
expanded Americorps is not quite so disturbing, but a number of provisions
in the bill raise serious concerns.
To begin with, the legislation threatens the
voluntary nature of Americorps by calling for consideration of “a workable,
fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young
people.” It anticipates the possibility of requiring “all individuals in the
United States” to perform such service – including elementary school
students. The bill also summons up unsettling memories of World War II-era
paramilitary groups by saying the new program should “combine the best
practices of civilian service with the best aspects of military service,”
while establishing “campuses” that serve as “operational headquarters,”
complete with “superintendents” and “uniforms” for all participants. It
allows for the elimination of all age restrictions in order to involve
Americans at all stages of life. And it calls for creation of “a permanent
cadre” in a “National Community Civilian Corps.”
But that’s not all. The bill also calls for
“youth engagement zones” in which “service learning” is “a mandatory part of
the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local
educational agency.” This updated form of voluntary community service is
also to be “integrated into the science, technology, engineering and
mathematics curricula” at all levels of schooling. Sounds like a government
curriculum for government approved “service learning,” which is nothing less
than indoctrination. Now, ask yourself if congressmen who voted for this
monstrosity had a clue what they were voting for. If not, they’re guilty of
dereliction of duty. If yes, the implications are truly frightening.
UPDATE:
Between being first officially "reported" to the
House and being voted on by the full House, bill managers stripped one whole
section of the measure that created a Congressional Commission on Civil
Service, thus removing the section that contained the language cited above
concerning "a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement
for all able young people" and a possible requirement for "all individuals
in the United States" to perform such service. The section could be restored
during the Senate-House conference committee meeting. A new, separate bill
containing that language has since been introduced in the House.