On "serving our country" -- thoughts on General Clark's remarks

[Sparkly]

General Clark did a radio interview Wednesday that covered a wide range of topics, including the idea of service to country. He's said before that his youth was steeped in the patriotic idealism and competition with the Soviets captured in the movie "October Sky" (he and his friends even tried to launch rockets!).

In this interview he says he wishes more young people wanted to serve our country, whether in the military or in any other way. It's a view that values reaching out, serving each other, caring about our communities and our nation rather than building walls around our families, as he put it.

It's got me thinking about what "serving the country" means. The last thing most of us want to do is serve this government as run (or overrun) by the Bush regime, because they're morally corrupt, reckless and dangerous. They are not an entity inspiring us to follow, support and serve. But they are not our country. Our country is still We The People.

And I think that among the ways we serve each other as The People, working for our Democratic party and its causes is a valuable one -- because someday we will take back the government and make it again an entity worth following and supporting. It's never been perfect, and it never will be; but getting it out of the hands of these zealots is also serving our country, imho.

So I'm just sayin' -- let's keep serving. :thumbsup:

(The interview is here: http://www.scpr.org/programs/talkcity/index.shtml# -- scroll to Feb. 2)

[cidliz2004]

1. Thats what I love about Clark

He makes you THINK about really important things. His voice reaches your very soul.

[SW FL Dem]

2. Yep, he motivated me to get off my butt

stop complaining and try to do something for the 2004 elections. I hadn't been active in politics in over 20 years. Wes Clark inspired me.

[Adelante]

3. I just listened to it this morning

That bit on national service was eloquent and compelling. I wish there was a transcript of this interview.

[Crunchy Frog]

4. I just finally got around to listening to it.

He always makes you feel like he's really got a grasp of the big picture.

I liked his theme that we are all part of a community, and that everyone has an obligation to give something back to that community.

I agree with you about serving the government under the Bush regime. I would never encourage anyone to join the military while the junta is in power, but I do think it's good to think about positive ways that we can contribute to our communities.

I think working on building the Democratic party is critical. Wes himself seemed to me to sound very worried that we're on the brink of turning into a one party state.

Anyway, I'm going to have to take a second listen to that. He always seems to pack so much in that it's hard to absorb it all in a single listen.

Thanks for posting.