2. Aspects of national youth service
Universal Principles
National service as a rite of passage was a major theme in the second keynote address. This address was given by Robert O'Brien, who had been a student volunteer in a 1940 national service experiment called Camp William James. The camp was based on the philosophy of William James and Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy (see Appendix B: Bibliography), was associated with the United States Civilian Conservation Corps, and was supported by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt.
After quoting Oliver Wendell Holmes, who said that his generation had been touched by fire in the Civil War, Mr. O'Brien stated, "I also in my youth was touched by fire." It was an experience unmatched in intensity: "The sacrifices it inspired, the nobility of its purposes, the diversity of those who were participants: men and women, black and white, educated and uneducated, rich and poor, a cross-section of youth in American society. That was Camp William James. When I retired about 12 years ago and looked back at my life, I realized that was the pivotal experience. I would have been a different person if I hadn't participated in Camp William James." Subsequent discussions during the conference suggested that national service as a rite of passage may well be a universal principle.
Mr. O'Brien also spoke of the value of youth service in preserving traditional cultures. His remarks struck a sympathetic chord in persons from the developing countries, who suggested that the preservation of traditional cultures should be another universal principle. Mrs. Maakwe, for example, noted the severity of the "problems brought about by modern technologies."
Paul N. McCloskey Jr., chairman of the United States Commission on National and Community Service, said that interest in preserving traditional cultures is not limited to the developing countries. He reported that earlier that month, the Commission had awarded a national service demonstration grant to the Seneca Nation of Indians in New York State for a project in which young adult volunteers would serve as personal health aides to tribal elders. At the same time, the elders would serve as mentors to the young people and would pass on to them their traditional culture and language.
Another likely universal principle was identified in the remarks of Clant K. Alok, Commissioner of the National Youth Service Commission in Papua New Guinea. Mr. Alok first addressed the importance of creating youth service systems within the framework of a national youth policy. He said that young people form "only part of the total community, and that programs related to youth cannot be considered in isolation from programs in other sectors of the community.
"Equally, however, [the National Youth Service of Papua New Guinea] recognizes that youth forms the basis of the future of the country and that programs aimed directly at realizing the potential of youths can be ignored only to the detriment of the country. The National Youth Service is therefore an attempt to devise programs specifically aimed at youth while keeping in mind broader government objectives for the country as a whole.
"It is a basic premise of the National Youth Service program that youth is an opportunity, not a problem. Too often consideration of youth [assumes] that idle youths will cause social problems and that these youths need either to be kept active or controlled solely for the peace of mind and safety of the rest of the community. This is a very negative approach."
Although a vote was not taken, it appeared that all conferees agreed with Mr. Alok's premise regarding youth as an opportunity, and that it deserved to be considered one of the universal building blocks of national youth service throughout the world. Mr. Alok's observation also formed the basis of a discussion about the need for a theory of national youth service that might include such principles. The conferees agreed that this topic should be the subject of further research and a topic at future global conferences on national service.
In addition, it was agreed that distinguishing between voluntary and mandatory service is one of the thorniest issues surrounding national service, in part because of different viewpoints as to what is voluntary and what is compulsory. In the United States, for example, physicians and other health professionals who received federal support for their education are required to serve in needy areas for two to four years, depending on the amount of federal support that went into their training. Whether this work constitutes mandatory service or a contractual obligation will be considered at future national service conferences.
There was fairly general agreement about the areas of activity in national service. Dr. Ramesh Chibber, a research associate of General Chibber's, said that the areas in India in which most help is needed from national service volunteers are education, family planning, nursing, public health, and the environment. These areas also appeared to have high priority in other countries, although those without an extended family system placed care of the very old and the very young high on the list.
It was generally agreed that national service should be based on the ideal of service and that programs should provide discipline as well as excitement and esprit de corps.
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