Recently there has been a flurry of rhetoric regarding the continuing mess in the Middle East and specifically in Afghanistan and Iraq.Without getting into all the nonsense surrounding these catastrophes and the fabrications and policies of war profiteering that got us engaged there in the first place, a key thread in the discussion is the constant theme of soldiers who are serving their country by being soldiers. Raising the question of from what are the combat forces protecting us is another question for another time entirely. There is a larger question here and it, in this writer’s opinion, goes to the heart of the discussion – is serving in the military and specifically in a combat theatre the only way one serves his or her country ? Are the rants of the likes of the senior senator from Arizona, John McCain representative of the people who for some odd reason continue to elect him back to the senate ? Mr McCain continues to spout the terrible ideology of many republican politicians that serving one’s country only means being in uniform in a war zone. Of course, it is their policies that get us into war zones on a frighteningly regular basis. Nonetheless, the question remains – is this what constitutes “…serving one’s country..”.The concept of serving one’s country is as old as nations. By definition, it means providing a service which benefits the nation or significant part of it. Unlike former senator Rick Santorum who declared that serving ones country meant displaying his bumper stickers, the whole ideology is, or should be based on what benefits the broader community, not simply a selected few or in his case, an individual. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew stated that “..I think there is no higher calling in terms of a career than public service which is a chance to make a difference in people’s lives and improve the world..”. Secretary Lew holds what is, or rather ought to be the key element in the entire debate. It is about making a difference in the lives of people – the community of people, as it were.

Now , as someone once said, to every rule there is an exception and, if one may, the most glaring exception to Mr Lew’s philosophy is, of course, Congress. Members of Congress are elected to represent the people in their District as well as keeping a focus on the well being of the nation as a whole. Lately, however, it seems that the betterment of the fare of the country has become at best third place on the agenda , the primary being reelection at any cost or any price. Second on the agenda is the augmenting of their own portfolio and their own bank accounts. Sadly, the wishes of the masses have become even far from even secondary. But I digress a bit. Back to the discussion on serving ones country.

Recently, in an article in “Current Events”. Gideon MacLeish makes the case for the many avenues available through which to serve ones country.
He makes the point about civilian versus military service, saying that politicians are constantly pushing the reinstatement of the Draft, reinforcing the premise that it’s only the military who actually “ serve their country”.
He emphatically states that”… this premise is insulting, condescending and downright wrong..”. I could not agree more.
After reading his article, nurses come to mind, medical researchers, members of the law enforcement community, those Red Cross volunteers – all make a significant contribution to their communities each and every day.
And let us not forget teachers – those who every day try, often in the face of intolerable conditions and circumstances, to impart knowledge to generations following us. Knowledge is power and knowledge to work for ones community even more so.
Maybe the term “service to ones country” ought to be measured not by the number of lives lost but rather by the number of lives saved. Maybe it should be measured not by how much an individual gains from his or her efforts but rather how much the community gains. Maybe it should be measured not by the vested interests of a few but rather the broader interests of the many. This nation, as well as others, tends to play the power grab game on a huge scale. Profiteering is rampant in all of this and it is part and parcel to almost never ending military engagements.  It must be said, however, that while acknowledging this so called service to ones country on the part of the men and women in uniform – again policies notwithstanding – one cannot ignore the civilian service to one’s country in which millions participate . It is just wrong.
To quote Dorothy Height, “..Without community service we would not have a strong quality of life. It’s important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It’s the way we ourselves grow and develop”.