Progressives (Democratic, Republicans, Greens, Indies, whatever) need WSC legislation in their arsenal

Dwayne Hunn

“But we need to set a deadline to end the Iraq War. World Service Corps legislation won’t do that,” she said.

An often-received response from concerned Progressives, whose support I solicit for the proposed World Service Corps (WSC) legislation. My answers urge them to play better political chess, monopoly, and poker, by using America’s abundant chips.

I remind them that “Get-Out-of Vietnam” demands went unheard until American deaths approached 50 times those now reported. And during Vietnam, the media showed bloodied, gored soldiers and Vietnamese. Today, it’s tough to see an American coffin, and only Arab cameras mirror Iraqis death and destruction. And the administrations that ceded our Vietnam defeat were more progressive and in less media control than is today’s.

“You believe we were lied into Iraq. Like Vietnam, the dominoes weren’t there. But so what? Americans bought the propped-up stories. Many still do, and it’s pretty easy for good poker playing chess players to control enough policy and air waves to keep a war going -- and to start a new one,” I continue, thinking.

It is easy for lies or scanty truths to guide Americans around a world on which they know little. Few Americans understood Vietnam, until over 500,000 bled there.

Few knew or cared about Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, or their religious, cultural, or political heritage. Few knew Iraq before we proclaimed it a WMD factory, or weapons of multiple deception laboratory. Today more Americans know headline information about those people, but understand little. Consequently, we pay a bloody, costly price for a headline IQ.

There is a better, cheaper, smarter, more Christ-like way to understand the world. It reduces the hatred fired upon our soldiers, while reducing our need to enter tomorrow’s wars.

“If we don’t start leaning about the world by doing good in it, then we increasingly dumb down our insights, which will produce dumb and dumber policies. So if you want to reduce today’s military deployments and have fewer future dumb wars, build an overwhelming army of peaceful warriors who, like Green Berets, scrutinize the world’s different needs, address them, and learn in-depth from doing so. Quoting the Peace Corps Sargent Shriver, ‘If the Pentagon’s map is more urgent, the Peace Corp’s is, perhaps, in the long run the most important.’ ”

How do Progressives build that army?

By pressing Congressional Representatives to enact both WSC proposals, which deploys a million Americans in their choice of the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity, Head Start, Doctors Without Borders, or the Red Cross. Enacting these proposals smarten and integrate America with:

1) Two years of volunteering: Upon completing two years of WSC service, two years of community college and two years of state college, vocational training or graduate school tuition fees would be paid.

And / or

2) One year of required service: All 18 -26 year olds would be required to serve through their choice of one of the six peaceful, productive WSC organizations.

3) Those who choose to serve in our all-volunteer military would be exempted from the WSC. Each WSC proposal explicitly states that our courageous and skilled all-volunteer army remains all-volunteer.

America is not admired for being the world’s bulliest power. When the world loves America, it loves the reluctant warrior who knows and cares more about building its neighbor’s barn than slapping down a neighbor or his barn. When a million character-rich Americans venture into the world in the sandals of the Fisherman, fewer soldiers will don night goggles and fight through a dark side that produces more Ugly American targets. When ALL Americans, red and blue-staters alongside red-necks and blue-noses, work in the world’s classrooms, America will accrue huge benefits akin to those gained when we tossed out our myopic ‘separate but equal’ educational doctrine.

Machiavellian operators specialize in putting vision-impairing obstacles in good policies’ paths. What to do?

Attack with overwhelming force. Go on offense. Knock Machiavelli’s team onto defense by leapfrogging their obstacles with good American can-do programs.

The WSC leapfrogs today and tomorrow’s obstacles to peace. So sign the on-line Petition to encourage bipartisan co-sponsors of the WSC legislation at www.worldservicecorps.us. It is time for all Americans to engage in the action and passion of the time.