Product Description

Public rhetoric in the United States has always laid heavy stress on the obligations of citizenship. Bill Clinton praised the idea of service, and so does George W. Bush. Since September 11, the debate over service and the obligations of citizenship has become even more urgent.

United We Serve gathers many diverse voices on civic life and civic obligation to explore the idea of national service as it relates to citizenship. Activists and practitioners discuss the rise of the service movement, its practical successes, and its challenges. Policymakers and political leaders explore the links between service and problem solving. Political scientists and philosophers connect the service debate to larger concerns about democratic participation. The book also includes a lively debate over whether the U.S. should reconsider compulsory national service. The discussion about service is a debate over how Americans think of themselves and their nation—and about what the "new patriotism" means.

Contributors include: Daniel Blumenthal, Harry Boyte, John M. Bridgeland, Louis Caldera, Bruce Chapman, former President Bill Clinton, Charles Cobb Jr., Jane Eisner, Jean Bethke Elshtain, William Galston, Stephen Goldsmith, Robert D. Haas, Stephen Hess, Peter D. Hart and Mario A. Brossard, Alan Khazei, John Lehman, Leslie Lenkowsky, Paul C. Light, Michael Lind, Tod Lindberg, Will Marshall and Marc Magee, Senator John McCain, Charles Moskos, Robert Putnam, Representative Charles Rangel, Alice M. Rivlin, Michael Schudson, Mark Shields, Carmen Sirianni, Theda Skocpol, Andrew L. Stern, Jeff Swartz, Steven Waldman, Caspar Weinberger, David Winston, Harris Wofford, and Robert Wuthnow.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1072428 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 327 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The editors of this collection (Dionne is a journalist and fellow at Brookings, Drogosz and Litan are staffers) report that, in the wake of September 11, AmeriCorps applications went up by 50%, those for the Peace Corps doubled and those for Teach for America tripled. Yet, they contend, Americans have always demonstrated ambivalence about national service, whether military or as voluntarism. Here they gather essays by scholars, writers and public figures examining the pros and cons of public service, the issue of universal service and the relation between government and private voluntary organizations. Congressman Charles Rangel's controversial op-ed piece "Bring Back the Draft" is included; Senator John McCain argues passionately for government to offer greater opportunities for public service; philosopher Jean Bethke Elshtain considers the "overlap" between the realms of politics and religion in defining what constitutes a good life. Offering a range of perspective, this volume is a good place to start for anyone interested in the question of public service in the 21st century.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
E.J. Dionne Jr. is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution and a syndicated columnist with The Washington Post Writers Group.

Robert E. Litan is vice president and director of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he also holds the Cabot Family Chair in Economics.

Kayla Meltzer Drogosz is a senior research analyst for the project on Religion and Civil Society at the Brookings Institution.