It's a lot safer, cheaper, and easier to begin today to stock an American World Service Corps that rivals our standing military in size, so they can help develop communities that erase the need to drone on through expensive, bloody crosshairs.
Fielding a robust AWSC can then inspire other nations to build similar do-good corps, so that our soldiers are safer and warfare becomes a less relied on solution to world problems. Let competing on the fields of development to see who does the most good be where nations battle in the 21st century.
Continuing droning on with shortsighted responses to problems further hastens the disappearance of the American Century. Fielding 21 million AWSC volunteers into service over the next 27 years gives America a chance to lead and regain respect for another century -- via a cost effective investment in Americans who serve.
Will we get smart enough while we still have enough power, money, and respect to build the platoons of builders that the American World Service Corps (AWSC) Congressional Proposals call for to address 21st century world needs? Failing to do so soon burdens Generations Next with not only dire economics but also spreading hatreds and bloodshed.
Having the Peace Corps at half the size it was in the late 60's is not the involved nation of doers needed to answer today's problems. Having a handful of shrinking state conservation corps is not an answer for a generation of students learning how to Twitter and Facebook but not work, while 25% of their parents are unemployed, underemployed, underinsured, and overworked while natural and manmade disasters increasingly wash on our and other nations shores. Going small into a century of huge needs is not how Americans can build a public policy IQ that leads them to build a healthy, robust society.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).