Page 10 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, June 11, 2010
Volunteer nation
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OU KNOW HOW WE could really reduce government spending, improve foreign relations and probably reduce global warming? Get rid of politicians. We don’t need to reduce the cost of police, firefighters, schools, health care and road builders; we need to get rid of the people who yammer about these things for a career. Watching just about any 30 minutes of C-Span should convince you of this. The people who are yelling the loudest about runaway government spending are, ironically, paid by the government. There is one thing they yammer about of which I approve: past and current presidents campaigning on platforms extolling the virtues of faith-based community groups and the need for volunteerism. Let’s bring that home. If we can trust the safety of this country to a volunteer army, we sure ought to be able to get by with a volunteer government. Soldiers do get paid a little, but not nearly enough. They endure it because it is a short-term service to their country. Politicians, in principle, do the same thing, but get paid a lot more while risking little. I know politicians still don’t make professional sports-star salaries. Many of them actually spend more money getting into office than they make while in office. However, everything they do make comes out of tax dollars. Plus the whole election extravaganza is a colossal waste of money that could be replaced by a simple volunteer process. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples closer to home — the LDS Church, for example. Well organized and fiscally sound with a relatively sane, happy membership, the church is primarily run by rotating volunteer leaders and teachers on the local level. Missionaries spread the word as a volunteer service. On the other hand, the Catholic Church pays, clothes and houses clergy. It owns its own semi-country. It is also implicated in the Spanish Inquisition and current worldwide scandals of an extremely seedy nature. Another clear win for volunteerism. Or model government after the Peace Corps. Just having the word “peace” associated with govern-
Slightly Off Center By Dennis Hinkamp
ment would be a step forward. In fact, instead of calling it politics, we could just call it the Peace Corps. I know the name is already taken, but with all the money we’ll be saving, we could buy the name. The Peace Corps could change its name to the Military Standoff Corps, the Cease Fire Corps or something similar. Volunteers might not be the smartest or most qualified persons for the job, but they are more likely to get things done in an expeditious manner because they have other things to do. Nobody would have the time to filibuster if they really needed to get home in time for the kids’ baseball games. Weekends and holidays would be reserved for family, church and lawn care so debates would have to be short. Without the possibility of making a career out of it, even campaigns would be shorter and less flashy. Millions of hours of television would be freed up for more useful things such as an extra season of “Lost” or World Cup soccer replays. Dennis Hinkamp does not really think politicians cause global warming; they just get in the way of solving it. He is among a number of freelance writers whose columns appear in The Herald Journal as part of an effort to expose readers to a variety of community voices. He is not an employee of the newspaper. Feedback at dhinkamp@msn.com.
By Clark Salisbury (Salisbury Photography) A B-17 departs Logan at 6:50 p.m. last Friday.
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By Susanna Oliverson
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