Trump glorifies himself, Buttigieg glorifies public service
By Jennifer Rubin
Opinion writer
July 3 at 2:15 PM
The contrast could not be more striking: A narcissistic 73-yr. old president who’s used the presidency to enrich himself and his relatives is planning a militaristic, bombastic tribute starring, himself (who else?). Meanwhile, the 37 yr. old, Iraq War veteran and Mayor of South Bend, Ind. Pete Buttigieg introduces a plan for national service.
The Post reports:
The South Bend, Ind., mayor has laid out an ambitious plan to see 1 million high school graduates participate in some kind of service by 2026. His plan would create new service corps opportunities around climate issues, community health and senior care. . . .
The proposal would provide student loan relief for those who dedicate a year of their lives to service. The goal is for “where did you serve?” to be as important a question at a job interview as “where did you go to college?” he said.
The rollout echoes programs created under President John F. Kennedy, who famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you would do for your country.” Buttigieg’s plan would build upon the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, both the brainchild of Kennedy.
His web site explains that the first step in his plan would be “to increase service opportunities from 75,000 to 250,000 in the existing federal and AmeriCorps grantee organizations and through new Service Year Fellowships, targeting high school, community college, vocational, HBCUs and MSI students, and opportunity youth (out of school and work). Emphasis is placed on high-quality service positions, on-the-job training, leadership development, and mentor-mentee sponsoring.” (Emphasis in the original.) Second, local and state governments can be enlisted to develop “competitive grant funding for cities, counties, and communities to create ecosystems of service around regional issues. These grants would be built on the Cities of Service model.” And, finally, aim to scale the program up. (“Quadruple service opportunities to 1 million high school graduates (by 2026 – the 250th anniversary of America’s Independence”).
It is not entirely original. ("Buttigieg’s plan borrows from the Service Year Alliance, a nonprofit that encourages young people to dedicate a year of their life to a service program. The idea was born out of a comment made by Gen. Stanley McChrystal in 2012 in support of mandatory service of all kinds for young people.) However, it is timely and unique to him, who is trying to gain traction in a presidential race in which he is still back in single digits.
There is a lot to like in this.
For one thing, Buttigieg’s plan loosens’ Democrats obsession with free college, and instead provides a post high-school project whereby young people could earn debt relief. Only about 30 percent of Americans go to college, a number out of whack with the time spent trying to give it away to generally wealthier students. In the debates Buttigieg pointed out that we should also look out for ways to make not going to college affordable. This program might lead to college, but it might also lead to non-college accreditation and meaningful work that doesn’t require a college degree.
In addition, Buttigieg’s proposal is a repudiation of the Trumpian autocratic promise that “I alone can fix it,” a tag line for every tin-pot dictator who insists the answers are “easy” if only he were in power. Back on Earth One, our nagging social and economic problems are complex, longstanding and not amenable to snap solutions. A core principle of patriotism and democracy is that the citizens attend to their own well-being; they are not passive observers of the Great Leader.
Ironically, Buttigieg’s plan is the sort of thing conservatives favored become they joined a cult supporting consolidation of power in the executive branch of the federal government. It encourages activity outside the federal government, fostering local and state engagement through the kinds of civic institutions that have withered in recent years. While Trump never leaves us alone, intruding into every crevice of society (4th of July, even) Buttigieg reaffirms that the federal government is supposed to be limited; it is our potential that should be limitless.
Finally, Buttigieg makes a compelling case for the program’s ability to foster understanding and unity across social, racial, political and geographic divide:
I am proposing A New Call to Service—a plan to dramatically expand service opportunities across the country. Shaping a new generation bonded by the experience of serving will not only deliver good work, but also help repair the social fabric in our nation. http://t.co/Sw2r5VqhZN
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) July 3, 2019
This is quintessential Buttigieg -- wonky and understated in presentation but deeply patriotic. If you’re keeping a list of good ideas from all the candidates for the next president to tap, put this one on it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/07/03/trump-glorifies-himself-buttigieg-glorifies-public-service/?utm_term=.057759bed626
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