In the Service of Our Nation

By President Carnegie Corporation of

In the Service of Our Nation

By Vartan Gregorian President Carnegie Corporation of New York

ServiceNation Summit September 11-12, 2008 , NY

©2008 Carnegie Corporation of New York Cover photo © Corbis

1 On the occasion of this summit on service to our nation, let us first pause to remember that as we gather here today, we are following in the footsteps of great leaders who paved this path for us.

I’m sure many of you still remember Martin Luther King, Jr. also stressed that in his rousing 1961 inaugural address, our moral obligations to our fellow men and President John F. Kennedy memorably said, women, both as citizens of our country and “Ask not what your country can do for you. members of the human race. His influence, Ask what you can do for your country.” But it which was immensely important in rekindling is equally important to note that his very next America’s sense of decency, opportunity and words were, “My fellow citizens of the world: equality, reached far and wide. Among those ask not what America will do for you, but who echoed King’s ideas was Reverend James what together we can do for the freedom of Bevel, who gave a sermon in 1962 in the small man.” Even before the current era of global- town of Ruleville, Mississippi, in which he ization—when not only the spread of new and urged African Americans to register to vote. challenging ideas but also the effects of calam- His words were heard—and taken to heart— ities such as disease, poverty, climate change by Fanny Lou Hamer, a Mississippi share- and natural disasters are tearing down every- cropper, who was the first person in her town body’s notion of man-made borders—Presi- respond to Bevel’s call to action even though dent Kennedy clearly understood how closely registering to vote was a dangerous thing for the vitality of our American democracy is tied a black person to do at that time in the deep to the advancement of the human condition South. As a result, she lost her job, was ha- both at home and around the world. rassed by the police and savagely beaten, but that didn’t stop her from devoting the rest of of historical amnesia. At a time when, as a her life to grassroots civil rights activism. Her nation of individuals, we have carried “indi- courage and determination drew national at- vidualism” to a new level of idolatry. Some tention, thus helping to change Americans’ have made it an icon, and an end in itself. understanding of how an individual can serve YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, instant messaging democracy and contribute to change that ben- and more: as much as these new technologies efits all. Why did she do all this? Because, she seem to connect us, they also contribute to said, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” what has often been referred to as the new cult of the individual, because they allow us to re- Let me mention another stalwart support- port on the minutiae of our daily lives—some- er of democracy who happened, among other times in moment-by-moment increments—in things, to be a former president of Carnegie a way that makes each trip to the store, each Corporation of New York: John Gardner, who pause for a cup of coffee, each ride on a bus or headed the Corporation from 1955 to 1967 purchase of a pair of shoes so important as to and served as Secretary of Health, Education, make nothing important except that it hap- and Welfare under President Lyndon Johnson. pened to us. This phenomenon goes hand-in- Gardner was the consummate public ser- hand with the growing American craving for 2 vant. Among his many accomplishments was instant celebrity, even if it is only the fleeting the creation of two organizations founded “fifteen minutes of fame” that seems to have on the twin principles of service to democ- become its own reward. Hence, by elevating racy and volunteerism: Common Cause and the individual to center stage in our crowded, Independent Sector. Gardner had great trust complex, confusing and endlessly evolving in the American people and they world, it may seem that each of us is occupied had built. He said, “More than any other form with celebrating our own supreme uniqueness, of government, democracy requires a certain which is certainly everyone’s right, but at the faith in human possibilities. The best argu- same time, in this way we are often promoting ment for democracy is the existence of men the escalating trend toward individual isola- and women who justify that faith. It follows tionism as well as the ghettoization of discrete, that one of the best ways to serve democracy is unconnected interests. And in the process, to be that kind of person.” To provide yet an- what we are quickly losing is the sense of the other avenue for public service, Gardner had larger community that draws us out of our- the idea of creating the nonpartisan White selves and our specialized, isolated circles and House Fellows Program to draw individuals into the wider society. from different professions, with different ex- pertise, and of exceptionally high promise to Robert Putnam noted this phenomenon Washington for one year of personal involve- in his revelatory book Bowling Alone: The ment in the process of government. In an- Collapse and Revival of American Community nouncing the program, President Lyndon B. (Simon and Schuster, 2000), in which he Johnson declared that “a genuinely free society made a convincing case for the fact that our cannot be a spectator society.” stock of social capital—the very fabric of our connections with each other—is in a steep de- I cite these examples at a time when we, cline, impoverishing our lives, our communi- in America, seem to be suffering from a kind ties and our nation. In part, he attributes this slide to the “individualizing” nature of tech- to, or “positive freedom,” meaning having the nology, which today, we see all around us: one ability, courage and creativity to constructively lone person plugged into their iPod; one per- respond to and participate in a social system son sitting at a computer keyboard; one person that uplifts its members. surfing the Web, checking their e-mail, watch- What Putnam, Riesman, Fromm and ing a video, all on a handheld device that they others down the years who have commented stare at by themselves. The cumulative effect of on the mutual support system created from this isolation amidst the crowd, says Putnam, the best aspects of the relationship between may have a devastating effect on our society in the individual and society often point to is that it undermines the active civic engagement that individual fulfillment is not the equiva- a strong democracy requires from its citizens. lent of the fulfillment of a society’s aspirations. Fifty years earlier, the late David Riesman This is especially true of a democratic society wrote The Lonely Crowd (Yale University Press, such as ours where “We the people,” is not 1950), a landmark study in which he analyzed just a lofty metaphor that begins the text of what he described as the inner- and other- our Constitution but the first lines of an op- directed character of men and women in the erating manual for a system meant to benefit post-World-War-II era. Riesman, a sociolo- citizens across all the race, class, economic, 3 gist, suggested that social pressures, particu- gender and ethnic strata of our society. As the larly those created by mid-century American late Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We may developments such as suburbia, where fitting have sailed in different ships, but we are all in into the community was of paramount impor- the same boat now.” tance and the approval of one’s neighbors was King’s apt description of a society of men critical to being accepted into a desired group, and women descended from people who, at were chipping away at individuals’ ability to some point, voyaged here from somewhere shape the direction of their own lives. He ar- else, also puts the responsibility for steering gued that as Americans—fearful of being seen that boat squarely on the shoulders of all our as different than those around them—adopted nation’s citizens. And it brings up the question the aims, beliefs and ideology of their peers, of whether pursuing the fulfillment of individ- they were, ironically, losing the ability to pro- ual ideals is a laudable goal if it means shirk- vide each other with true companionship and ing one’s responsibilities to the wider society fellowship based on deep knowledge of them- that not only protects one’s rights, ultimate selves and their family and friends. interests and freedoms but also provides the The late Erich Fromm, the internationally social, cultural and economic opportunities renowned psychologist, author and philoso- that allow individuals to test their capabilities pher, long ago worried about the same prob- and achieve their potential. After all, individu- lem, namely, the loosening bonds between the als don’t live—or thrive—in a vacuum. Each individual and society. He drew a clear distinc- one of us is part of a community and a nation, tion between the concept of freedom from, or and all of us are affected by the social and his- “negative freedom,” meaning not being bound torical context of our times, which provide the by restrictions imposed by society and its in- opportunities for us to achieve our goals and stitutions, even in a democracy, and freedom live our lives as richly and fully as possible. Tocqueville was not alone in highlighting An American Balancing Act these ideas. Adam Smith, known as the father of modern capitalism who was a moral phi- Striving to balance the longing of the individ- losopher as well, wrote with conviction about ual to soar to whatever heights he or she can the importance of the connections between reach while at the same time watching out for individual aspirations and the enlightened those who need some help back down on the evolution of society. Smith based his eco- ground is an inherently American trait. This nomic theories upon his view of human na- was famously noted by Alexis de Tocqueville in ture, which he described in his first book, The his classic 1835 book, Democracy in America, Theory of Moral Sentiments, published in 1759. in which he coined the term “individual- There, he theorized that man is driven by pas- ism” to describe the self-reliant character of sionate self-interests, but moderates them with Americans, who reveled in their freedom from his intellect and innate sympathy for others. aristocracies. While noting that this unre- In this book, Smith first made the statement strained freedom might well have turned into that when people are left to follow their self- anarchy, he also observed that the excesses and interests they are “led by an invisible hand, 4 negative aspects of individualism were held without knowing it, without intending it, to in check by citizens’ benevolent associations, advance the interest of the society.” which were organized to influence politics, In that connection, I would like to re- address societal concerns and provide aid to mind us that our forefathers founded a land those in need. of opportunity, not a land of opportunists. Underlying Tocqueville’s observations is They signed the Declaration of Independence, the notion that in the healthy development of wrote the Constitution and formulated the individualism and in the enlightened individ- Bill of Rights with the faith that the ordinary ual there is that balance between the personal citizen was committed to the accomplishment component of the self with its private inter- of extraordinary acts. As the great clergyman ests and the public good, which embodies the and long-time peace activist William Sloane strength of the community. Neither compo- Coffin exhorted, we cannot retreat from the nent can exist by itself. In separation, each is big issues of society and our time into our an abstraction without content. own self-contained world, which Coffin called the pygmy world of private piety. To do so is Tocqueville’s “enlightened self-interest” to become social, political and moral isola- raises the expectation that we, as social, politi- tionists. It is to deny the American creed. cal, moral and spiritual beings, will be able to distinguish between integrity and compro- That creed, it should be noted, is what mise, justice and injustice, personal gain and distinguished our nascent American democra- public interest, means and ends, good and cy from Europe beginning from the time that evil. We must always be aware that the ab- our nation’s framers began the Revolution, sence of intelligence, commitment and choice and it does still: we do not delegate to the tends to weaken our social bonds and hence, state our responsibilities to help and provide weaken our society and democracy. for each other. England, for example, enacted its landmark Statute of Charitable Uses in 1601. The law codified the state’s responsibili- that other sectors are either unwilling or un- ty for assisting the poor, aged and orphaned— able to address. as well as for providing hospitals, schools and Another gratifying development for our universities. Other nations, in Europe and nation is that in the past century or so, both elsewhere, followed this model, dampen- charity and philanthropy have become great ing the growth of civil society—a term that pillars of our society. In the U.S. today there refers to all the voluntary entities that oper- are more than 72,000 grantmaking founda- ate apart from government and business. But tions, which greatly contribute to the vitality from the earliest days of our colonial history, of our national life. In 2007, these institu- Americans saw things differently. Preaching tions increased their giving to $42.9 billion from the deck of the Arbella as it sailed toward according to Foundation Growth and Giving New England in 1630, the Puritan leader Estimates: Current Outlook (2008 edition), a John Winthrop spoke passionately about the report of the Foundation Center. This esti- interdependence of the community: “We must mated 10 percent gain followed a 7.1 percent delight in each other, make others’ conditions increase in 2006. our own, rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together.” The revolution- The strength and number of our volun- 5 ary idea of philanthropic citizens working tary associations are the expression of our together for societal benefits grew with our collective American nature, which insists on young nation, where colonists, pioneers and generosity, whether prompted by religious or their descendants faced the stark reality of go- civic obligation. In that regard, it is interesting ing without basic necessities if they did not to note that when the Scottish-born Andrew help each other obtain them through coopera- Carnegie, in his 1889 Gospel of Wealth, ex- tive effort. In this organic way, then, volun- pressed the bold notion that the rich have a tary associations formed to fill every void in moral obligation to give away their fortunes, the community, from fighting fires to lighting he did so as an American citizen, writing in an street lamps. American context, as an immigrant who had grown wealthy in his adopted nation and not Today, such voluntary associations contin- only believed it was his duty to pay back his ue to serve as the sturdy backbone of our civil country but welcomed the chance to do so. society. The nonprofit sector of our nation comprises more than 1.4 million organizations There are many indications that both that provide a large measure of the nation’s American institutions and individuals hold low-income housing, a substantial amount of similar beliefs, notwithstanding different its higher education and research institutions motivations. According to the Giving USA and is a critical component of K-12 education, Foundation, charitable giving in the United as well. Our nonprofits provide a significant States, including gifts from individuals and portion of the nation’s health care, much of corporations, was estimated to be $306.39 bil- its human services and almost all of the arts. lion in 2007, topping the $300 billion mark Nonprofits address the needs of underserved for the first time. Contributing to that total and disadvantaged populations by providing is the astonishing fact that three-quarters of billions of dollars in services and programs. American families give to charity—an aver- This sector tackles complex social problems age of $1,800 each. And it’s not the rich who are the most generous: Arthur C. Brooks, Around the same time that he signed the author and professor of business and govern- Morrill Act, President Abraham Lincoln also ment policy at Syracuse University’s Maxwell created the National Academy of Sciences to School of Citizenship and Public Affairs notes, advise Congress on “any subject of science “It is low-income working families that are the or art.” In the following century, President most generous group in America, giving away Franklin Delano Roosevelt initiated “The New about 4.5 percent of their income on average. Deal,” a set of programs and promises created This compares to about 2.5 percent among between 1933 and 1938 to alleviate the na- the middle class, and 3 percent among high- tionwide suffering brought about by the Great income families.” Adds Brooks: “The most Depression. The aim of these programs was to charitable people in America today are the put people back to work, reform the financial working poor.” system, and spur economic recovery as well as to match the abilities and talents of individu- als with national needs. Under the auspices of A Responsibility to the Future the Works Progress Administration, numer- ous initiatives were launched: the Federal Writers Project employed writers, editors and 6 Americans’ commitment to sharing what researchers who created, among other publi- they have with others represents a desire not cations, the American Guide Series, covering only to improve conditions in the present every state and several major cities; the WPA but also an understanding of how impor- Federal Theater Project put unemployed thes- tant it is for both individuals and societies pians to work producing about 1,000 per- to plan for the future. Being good stewards formances in 40 states; the WPA Federal Art of the future is built into our governmen- Program provided similar work relief for visual tal system and has been a paramount con- artists; WPA construction projects included cern of some of our most remarkable leaders. roads, bridges, public buildings and airports. Examples abound. Even in the middle of the President Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Civil War, President Lincoln signed the 1862 Corps, to give another example, was an in- Land-Grant College Act (also known as the novative effort that helped to remedy two Morrill Act), which essentially nationalized pressing problems at once: unemployment on access to higher education, extending it to all one hand and decaying national parks on the Americans—including such disenfranchised other. Some three million young men would groups as women and minorities. In effect, the go on to serve in the Corps, working together law spread higher education all over the U.S. to revitalize our nation’s natural resources. by putting new universities where the people were. Today, the member institutions of the American generosity, however, was not National Association of State Universities and confined to the U.S. As early as the 1820s, Land-Grant Colleges, an association of public for instance, private individuals in the United research universities, land-grant institutions, States supported such efforts as Greek in- and many state public university systems, dependence and in the 1840s, aided vic- enroll more than 3.6 million students, award tims of the Irish famine. Another early effort approximately a half-million degrees annually, by Americans to offer charity overseas was and have an estimated 20 million alumni. through the Christian missionary movement, which rose to prominence in the 19th and early In the aftermath of World War II, 20th centuries. By the 1920s, forty percent of prompted by the realization that a stable, eco- the more than 30,000 Christian missionar- nomically sound Europe was essential to pro- ies worldwide were Americans. The nonde- moting both European democracy and global nominational Student Volunteer Movement peace, the U.S. embarked on an extraordinary for Foreign Missions alone sent 13,000 young program of reconstruction for the war-torn Americans abroad. As proselytizers, these continent. The Marshall Plan, enacted in 1948 missionaries often failed and were some- under President Harry S. Truman, channeled times unwelcome. But as educators, doctors, $13 billion in economic and technical aid to nurses and in other capacities, they contrib- 16 European countries. In the meantime, at uted much to the societies where they worked. home, the GI Bill extended unprecedented Among the major intellectual, educational opportunities to more than two million re- and scientific institutions that have missionary turning soldiers, helping them go to college, roots are the American University of , get jobs, buy homes, and start businesses. the American University of Cairo and the for- It is estimated that the bill, at least in part, mer Robert College in Istanbul, now known provided for the education of 450,000 engi- as Boğaziçi University, established in 1863 as neers, 240,000 accountants, 238,000 teachers, 7 the first American school outside of the U.S. 91,000 scientists, 67,000 doctors, and 22,000 dentists, as well as for the college education of Between 1915 and 1930, an era of great at least a million other individuals. In 2008, strife in the world, Americans mounted what, Congress once again recognized the service of at the time, was perhaps the greatest humani­ its military veterans by enacting a new GI Bill. tarian relief effort ever undertaken. The Earmarking nearly $63 billion over a decade, organization that came to be known as the the program is aimed at giving soldiers who American Committee for Relief in the Near fought in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere the East (ACRNE), also called Near East Relief, same education benefit provided to veterans of was created to assist not only the victims of World War II. during World War I but also other Christian and non-Christian mi- But with generosity comes responsibility— norities who had been decimated and dis- and we have seen the mantle of responsibility placed by the war. In 1919, The New York enthusiastically taken up by Americans time Times reported on a nationwide campaign and time again, through volunteerism. In a that mobilized many elements of civil society, speech at the in 1960, a range of religious and civic leaders, academ- President John F. Kennedy asked students ics, corporations, and the general public to whether they would be willing to volunteer raise $30 million in aid, but by 1930, accord- abroad. Within days, hundreds answered his ing to its successor organization, the Near call, signing a petition pledging to serve in a East Foundation, “Near East Relief had raised if it were formed. The Peace Corps more than $110 million for this humanitarian was, in fact, established in 1961, with the work, fed more than twelve million people, goal of promoting “world peace and friend- provided medical aid to six million, cared ship through a Peace Corps, which shall make for and educated over 135,000 orphans, and available to interested countries and areas men saved at least a million lives.” and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under con- 50,000 volunteer-driven community impact ditions of hardship if necessary, to help the projects around the country. peoples of such countries and areas in meet- In 1993, President signed ing their needs for trained manpower.” Central legislation that incorporated VISTA into to the very idea of Americans volunteering to a new federal program called AmeriCorps leave home and travel overseas to help individ- that works with more than 3,000 nonprofit uals and communities in the developing world organizations, public agencies, and faith- was the idealism that President Kennedy knew based groups on efforts ranging from rebuild- was endemic to the character of Americans: ing communities after natural disasters to their willingness—even eagerness—to share teaching reading in low-income communi- scientific, technical, educational and other ties. More than 70,000 individuals current- knowledge, along with plain elbow-grease ly join AmeriCorps annually, totaling more and know-how with their fellow men and than 500,000 members since its inception. women around the globe. To date, more than According to a May 2008 report from the 190,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served Corporation for National and Community in 139 countries, working on issues ranging Service, 60 percent of AmeriCorps alumni from AIDS education to information tech- 8 continue to serve the nation through the non- nology and environmental preservation. After profit sector. President Kennedy’s death, President Lyndon B. Johnson helped to fulfill Kennedy’s dream After leaving office, in 2005 Bill Clinton of creating a domestic volunteer program mod- established the Clinton Global Initiative; eled after the Peace Corps by signing legisla- among its goals is the provision of life-saving tion establishing the Volunteers In Service To treatment to people in the developing world American (VISTA) program as the “domestic who are living with HIV/AIDS. Towards that Peace Corps” in 1964. end, the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) has helped 1.4 million people gain access to Successive administrations continued to medicines purchased under CHAI agreements, carry forward the concept of service and vol- representing nearly half of all people living unteerism. In his 1991 State of the Union ad- with HIV and on treatment for the disease dress, President George H.W. Bush declared, in developing countries. Sixty-nine countries “We can find meaning and reward by serving have access to CHAI’s negotiated prices for some purpose higher than ourselves—a shin- HIV/AIDS drugs and diagnostics, representing ing purpose, the illumination of a thousand more than 92% of people living, globally, with . It is expressed by all who know HIV. President George W. Bush has also made the irresistible force of a child’s hand, of a the treatment of AIDS a priority. Notably, in friend who stands by you and stays there— 2003, President Bush launched the President’s a volunteer’s generous gesture, an idea that is Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to simply right.” This theme forms the mission of combat global HIV/AIDS, a $15 billion ini- the Points of Light Institute, which, through tiative that is the largest commitment by any its collective network of partnering nonprof- nation to combat a single disease in human its, government agencies, faith-based organi- history. In another area, forming a remark- zations and companies seeking to engage in able—and remarkably effective partnership— service, manages millions of volunteers and Bill Clinton and former president George H.W. Bush worked together to aid victims for low-income families; conducting environ- of Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami. mental safety studies; and assisting the elderly, Soon after the tsunami hit, they raised $11 gaining valuable leadership and communica- million for relief efforts. By 2007, their Katrina tion skills in the process. The estimated value Fund had raised more than $130 million. of service contributed by students at Campus Compact member schools each year is $7.1 Another former president, , billion. It is important to note that volunteer along with his wife Rosalynn Carter, estab- opportunities are certainly not limited only to lished the nonprofit Carter Center in 1982, college-age students; there are many programs which works in conjunction with Emory for high school students that provide service University “to improve the quality of life for opportunities in their local communities or people in more than 70 countries.” Jimmy elsewhere in the U.S.; other programs even Carter is also a champion of Habitat for provide service venues abroad. Humanity, which is focused on eliminat- ing global poverty and homelessness. Habitat In recent years, tragic and catastrophic for Humanity notes that on an annual basis, events have coalesced Americans into a kind “Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter give a week of of spontaneous national corps of volunteers, their time—along with their construction spurred to unprecedented action and extraor- 9 skills—to build homes and raise awareness of dinary generosity. This was certainly evident the critical need for affordable housing.” The in the hours, days, weeks and months—even Carter Work Project is held at a different loca- years—after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. tion each year, and attracts volunteers from In New York, almost immediately, hun- around the world. dreds of people lined up outside hospitals to give blood in the hope of helping survi- Another major effort that harnesses vors. In the following weeks, the Red Cross the idealism of American youth is Campus had received approximately 22,000 offers of Compact, founded in 1985 by the presidents assistance and had processed 15,570 volun- of three private universities— teers—a greater response to a disaster than of , Timothy Healy of had ever been seen by the organization before. Georgetown University and Donald Kennedy A 2003 Congressional report noted that “In of —along with Frank the first days following the terrorist attacks of Newman, then president of the Education September 11, 2001, an unprecedented num- Commission of the States. Out of their vision ber of Americans contributed over $2.2 billion of “colleges and universities as vital agents and (some estimates run as high as $2.7 billion) in architects of a diverse democracy,” emerged a donations to [hundreds of charities] to assist national coalition of more than 1,100 college in the relief of victims.” More than $1.1 bil- and university presidents, representing some lion in grants was made by over 1,300 founda- six million students, dedicated to promot- tions and corporations, and both public and ing community service, civic engagement, private assistance to victims and families con- and service-learning in higher education. tinues today. Each year, member students work in thou- sands of communities, both locally and glob- As noted earlier, after Hurricane Katrina ally, providing such services as tutoring at-risk devastated New Orleans in August 2005, youth in reading and math; building houses Americans once again mobilized their re- sources, giving their time and their money rations for the future with their hopes for the to help their fellow citizens. Just one month progress of the nation. later, $1.2 billion had already been contrib- Most important of all, volunteering is an uted by the American public; by 2007 nearly act of freedom, of personal choice. It is impor- $4 billion earmarked for Katrina relief had tant to remember that, because too often in been contributed to the nation’s charities. history the concept of volunteerism has been And as of 2006, the Chronicle of Philanthropy adulterated in the service of authoritarian reports, “Since the storm struck, more than states and governments that have the power 500,000 volunteers have worked along the to command so-called volunteers to carry out Gulf Coast, according to estimates by the fed- specified actions. The Nazis, for example, used eral government.” the term “volunteer” to mask many of their Of course, there are times when the ebb horrendous crimes, including forced labor and and flow of the national economy impacts the the conscription of men and young boys from scope of volunteerism and giving, which may conquered territories, perverting the very idea be the case with the current downtown in the of a volunteer. The Soviet Union and other U.S. economy. As a July 2008 report by the totalitarian states have also commanded “vol- 10 Corporation for National and Community unteers” to carry out the aims of the regime Service notes, “Nationally, the volunteer rate and have used forced “volunteerism,” both in fell in 2007 for the second year in a row, to peacetime and during war, as a means of purg- 26.2 percent.” Rapid turnover in volunteers is ing unwanted groups and individuals. also a nationwide problem: one out of every But even authoritarian states can be posi- three people who volunteered in 2006 did tively affected by voluntary citizen participa- not do so again in 2007. But even so, there tion in civic life. For example, the idea that is a definite bright side to the news: in all, it volunteerism goes hand-in-hand with a sense continues to be amazing that 60.8 million of personal freedom—and a rising confidence Americans performed more than 8 billion in the strength of civil society—was visibly, hours of volunteer service in 2007, and the and often movingly demonstrated in the after- report concludes that “volunteer intensity” is math of the devastating earthquake that struck on the upswing, with more than 30 percent in May 2008. Though Chinese soci- of volunteers contributing over 100 hours of ety is under the tight control of government service in a year. leaders who rarely allow citizens to act outside Even taking into account the slight dip in the bounds of the carefully defined social or- recent numbers, there is no denying that vol- der, the response of Chinese citizens to the unteerism has become institutionalized in the earthquake broke many rules and may have United States, which is something to be proud ushered in at least the beginnings of a new era of as a nation. And it should not be surpris- of citizen involvement in national life. Almost ing: after all, to volunteer is to participate immediately after the earthquake struck, in in democracy. To volunteer is to refuse to be an unexpected and spontaneous act of hu- marginalized. To volunteer is to support the manitarian concern for their fellow citizens, compact America’s citizens have always had men and women from many different parts of with their country: to join their personal aspi- China—an estimated 200,000 volunteers— began showing up in Sichuan, the province to knowledge—are open to all, as indicated by that was the epicenter of the quake, where a recent Institute of International Education in addition to the thousands of dead and in- (IIE) survey, which reports that there were jured somewhere around five million people more than 580,000 international students were left homeless. As studying in the U.S. in 2007. Another exam- reported, a Chinese psychologist who had, ple is the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, on his own initiative, taken a plane flight and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, borrowed a bicycle to get to the afflicted area which brings citizens of other countries to in order to provide free counseling, summed the United States for master’s degree or Ph.D. up the outpouring of citizen aid by saying, studies. Over 1,800 new Foreign Fulbright “Ordinary people now understand how to Fellows enter U.S. academic programs each take action on their own.” The Chinese gov- year. Its counterpart, the Fulbright U.S. ernment, though traditionally wary of any Student Program “is the largest U.S. interna- form of public activism, even eased their usual tional exchange program,” reports IIE, which tight rein on NGOs that rushed in to pro- manages both the U.S. and Foreign Student vide assistance, and in official press coverage, programs, “offering opportunities for students, paid unprecedented tribute to the volunteers. scholars, and professionals to undertake in- 11 Bao Shuming, a senior research coordinator ternational graduate study, advanced research, for the China Data Center at the University university teaching, and teaching in elementa- of Michigan, pointed out the significance of ry and secondary schools worldwide.” In 2007 these events in terms of the development of alone, the program awarded approximately six civil society in China. He said, “This is going thousand grants, “at a cost of more than $262 to dissolve some boundaries between the gov- million, to U.S. students, teachers, profession- ernment and the common people. People are als, and scholars to study, teach, lecture, and becoming more educated and organized, and conduct research in more than 155 countries, society is becoming more open.” and to their foreign counterparts to engage in similar activities in the United States.” Other While China and its people may be just programs, such as the Eisenhower Fellowships, on the cusp of voyaging toward a more open provide professional enrichment and network- society, not only nationally but also in their ing opportunities for Americans and their relationships with other countries, Americans, foreign counterparts, including government as mentioned earlier—and despite some no- leaders, heads of ministries, educators and table periods when isolationist sentiments others. The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship held sway—can look back on a considerable Program brings mid-level professionals to the history of reaching across borders to offer U.S. who are from designated countries with help for causes that concerned them. Today, development needs and provides them with Americans’ generosity to our international specialized study and training. neighbors has become an integral part of our national identity, so much so that, in many In the same way that the U.S. invests respects, to be an American volunteer is tan- in international student exchanges to enrich tamount to being a volunteer for the world. learning and knowledge across all borders, so One prominent area is education: the doors of it invests in combating diseases, which do not our colleges and universities—the true portals recognize the national boundaries that human- kind has drawn to divide the globe. Medical around the globe. Hence, the next step we breakthroughs brought about by American have to take is to find ways of providing new researchers benefit not only American citizens and more various opportunities and incen- but people everywhere, and no government tives for more people to become volunteers invests more money in medical research than and to contribute their time, their knowledge our own. In this area, the European Union and their service on a regular basis. We also (EU), for example, is not even close to the need to increase volunteer opportunities in a United States. As reported in a study by the planned and coordinated way in order to de- European Medical Research Councils, non- crease duplication. It’s wonderful how often market-sector medical research in the EU many different people and organizations all amounts to 0.17 percent of GDP compared want to help out in a particular area or work to 0.37 to 0.40 percent in the U.S., where on a particular problem, but instituting coop- the National Institutes of Health alone invest erative efforts and collaborative projects would over $28 billion annually in medical research. allow for more effective targeting of available And there’s more: in 2008, the U.S. contribu- resources while freeing up others for equally tion to the World Bank in support of projects critical needs. Instituting more organized sys- 12 to promote development and reduce poverty tems to enable Americans to volunteer would grew by $300 million to a total of $1 billion. also serve as a kind of “volunteer R&D,” Programs implemented by the United States meaning, on a local and national basis, we’d Agency for International Development to pro- have a way to test which efforts are most effec- mote economic growth, family planning, ag- tive and which are not, and which groups and ricultural development, education, health and organizations are doing the best job. That way, the environment in developing countries also we could be strategic about investing both hu- have a 2008 budget of just over $1 billion. To man and material resources in the programs strengthen the battle against the global spread and projects that provide the best services and of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, in are of the highest quality and in fine-tuning 2008, Congress reauthorized PEPFAR with them as needs arise. Such a system would pro- $48 billion over 5 years. Overall, the proposed vide the means for maximizing the benefits of U.S. budget for foreign aid in 2009 is more volunteer efforts not only on a short-term ba- than $26 billion. sis but over the long run, as well.

At a time when the U.S. faces many challenges at home and abroad, and there is The Challenge Ahead seeming disillusionment with many of our institutions and policies, cynicism has be- Based on the long-standing tradition of come a corrosive force in our society. But as American largesse, the challenge to our nation Americans, one of the greatest antidotes we is not to reinvent the concept of the citizen have to any pessimism we may hold about our volunteer. As we’ve noted, in great numbers, individual or collective future is our citizens’ Americans are already putting their shoulder deep commitment to volunteerism. There to the wheel or reaching into their pocket- is nothing cynical or shallow about offering book to help out in their community, their to lend a hand. Doing so is the opposite of state, their nation and even their neighbors so many of the ills that too often these days have characterized our society: a volunteer is “Human time does not turn in a circle, it runs not a mere consumer, not an entertainment ahead in a straight line. That is why man can- unit waiting to be amused or a socioeconomic not be happy: happiness is a longing for rep- unit that can be swayed or manipulated by etition.” Volunteers, those wonderful ancestors carefully crafted messages or fictions or false to all humanity, understand that the opposite evidence disguised as facts. And a volunteer, is true: we cannot linger in the past or recreate today, is bucking the trend of crass commer- what has gone before. Our task, as members cialism and self-interest-above-all-else that of a society and a nation—and, along with seems to be taking an increasingly prominent the rest of humanity, as fellow stewards of our place in our society. The service provided by one world—is to create a future in which we volunteers—on the local level, the national can all dwell in peace, and live safer, healthier, stage, or in global venues—unites both secular more fulfilling lives. That future is waiting for and religious traditions, as well. Indeed, ser- us to create it. It is waiting to see what togeth- vice and aid to those in need is a paramount er, we can do. principle of almost every religion and their respective denominations. All the major reli- gions call upon their followers not only to en- 13 vision walking in the shoes of their fellow men and women, but to actually help them along their way if that is what they need. In the New Testament, prominent on the list of things St. Peter exhorts Christians to do is add “to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity.” The Jewish concept of tikun olum, often translated as “to heal the world,” is incorporated into the faith as a tradition of service and charity. And over and over again, the Qur’an stresses the importance of charita- ble giving and of aiding those in need. When the religious impulse to provide aid and char- ity is threaded together with the moral obliga- tion of citizens to serve their nation through volunteer efforts, the foundations of democ- racy grow ever stronger.

Above all else, a volunteer is the very defi- nition of a good ancestor, a human who not only acknowledges but celebrates his or her humanity and who sees what to others may be invisible: the bonds that tie us together across the globe and through the centuries. We need many more people to volunteer to be good ancestors. Author Milan Kundera once wrote,

Carnegie Corporation of New York 437 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022 www.carnegie.org