May 14, 2008
SACRIFICE? Americans are ready to serve if asked
“Sacrifice” may not sound like a winning political platform, but civic leaders could be missing a big opportunity to tap Americans’ desire to serve, even if it might mean long hours and low pay.
In “Sacrifice: An American Virtue on Rebound,” Ron Fournier argues that Americans of all ages are willing to serve.
Sharon Rohrbach, for example, took a pay cut after working for 16 years as a neonatal nurse in St. Louis to create the Nurses for Newborns Foundation, which brings nurses into the homes of poor mothers.
“I think there’s something in each of us that wants to make things better for other people,” says Rohrback, a 2007 Purpose Prize winner. “I get more out of this than I give – by a long shot.”
“The desire to serve is part of human nature, and a particularly American virtue,” Fournier writes. “History tells us that our selfless instincts flower in troubled times like these, and can be tapped by leaders looking for ways to motivate anxious people.
“Generations of Americans have been willing to die, or risk death, for causes greater than themselves – to liberate the colonies from Britain; to abolish slavery or, depending on the point of view, preserve the Confederacy; to extend U.S. borders in fulfillment of our manifest destiny; to defeat fascism and curb Communism; and, yes, to dismantle Saddam Hussein’s regime.”
And yet, Fournier says, our government promises “more services AND lower taxes, more war AND no draft, all gain and no pain.”
He cites government data that shows Americans over age 16 are volunteering at historically high rates. Momentum for a national service movement is also growing. Organizers are planning a ServiceNation summit this fall to mobilize public support for national and community service opportunities for Americans of all ages who want to be engaged.
A survey by Civic Ventures and MetLife Foundation found that 50 percent of Americans age 50 to 70 want to do work that helps others. Civic Ventures is the publisher of Encore.org.
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Sacrifice?
I have some problems with Fournier’s article.
1. I think he’s selective about the data so that he can invoke the "self-centered Baby Boomers" cliche, by contrast with the (presumably) less selfish earlier and later generations. OK, today young people are volunteering in ever-increasing numbers. But who swarmed into the Peace Corps, Vista, social service organizations, etc., etc., in the 1960’s and 1970’s? Where did most of the political and environmental activists of the past 40 years come from? Hint: it wasn’t our parents’ generation, nor (yet) our children’s.
2. According to the cliche, Baby Boomers have spent the past 30-40 years navel-gazing and indulging themselves rather than making "sacrifices" to benefit the rest of society. That doesn’t jibe with my experience: most of the Baby Boomers I know have spent the past 30-40 years working, raising their children, and taking care of their aging parents — just like our parents did. Now, as our children leave home, our parents pass away, and we retire from our jobs, we’re finally free to devote more time to volunteer or low-paid work that benefits the rest of society.
3. If young people are making "sacrifices" now (such as taking a lower-paying job that helps the poor), it’s not because they were suddenly enlightened by a bolt from heaven. Who taught them that it’s worthwhile to follow your heart, pursue work that makes you feel good about yourself, and do something for the human race as a whole, rather than blindly pursuing money and security? Why, those "self-absorbed" Baby Boomers who raised them, of course. (By contrast, the ethos of many in our parents’ generation was "Work hard, make money, take care of your family — and let the rest of the world take care of themselves. If others are worse off than we are, it’s because they don’t have our work ethic and don’t deserve the success we’ve earned for ourselves.")