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Date Posted: 12:14:36 04/15/03 Tue
Author: Khronos
Author Host/IP: ip-66-80-65-31.dsl.sea.megapath.net / 66.80.65.31
Subject: No...
In reply to: «șTone Caponeș» 's message, "Did you ever serve two years doing public service?" on 11:35:51 04/15/03 Tue

I was a playboy joe college for about six years. I always worked and made money. I moved out when I went to college and never went back, so I had to keep working so I could support myself (although college was paid for by my folks). I never applied myself to school, rather I just managed to squeak by. I'm 36. For the ten year period between when I was 17 and 26 I've got absolutely nothing to show for my efforts (except for the aforementioned college degree - a generic business degree at that). No money saved (well I did an annual IRA, but that was through my job, so it really doesn't count), no material possessions, nothing. I spent all of my disposable income on pot and having a good time. It was a lot of fun, but when I think of what I could have done with a minimum of effort on my part it really shames me. God only knows how much money I blew on pot? For a while there I probably had a $300-500 a week habit! Every penny I made I spent on grass. I had my power cut off a time or two because of not paying, but I always had grass. Looking back I can't believe what a joke I was.

I think military service would have done me good. Part of my problem (and it's still a problem) is that I'm a classic "underachiever". This is a result of several factors in my life, and I think getting away from my family and starting from scratch would have helped me immensely. To be honest I never thought I could do good in school. After I came back as a grad student was when I found out that school wasn't really hard (not being stoned helped a great deal). My GPA as a grad student was over 3.5. And to be honest I didn't try real hard the second time around. I did make it a point to always go to class (I never did that the first time around) and I usually did all the work. I needed a drill sergeant riding my arse. Fortunately I now have my wife in that role, but I'd have been a lot better off if someone had done that for me a long time ago.

I'd like to see everyone have this requirement for public service. It would have to be done through some sort of government agency, but I think the important aspect of this program would be public service and gaining a different perspective on life. I think the requirements should be flexable. Say working in a hospital, or for the Red Cross, all kinds of stuff. People should be paid for their time and effort, but the pay should be nominal. This would have several benefits for people. They would learn to sacrifice for others. They would see life from a new perspective (poor little rich kids would see how the other half lived and the poor kids would find a possible way out of poverty). They would discover that the world is a whole lot bigger than what they had previously known. Obviously a lot of Americans already have this positive perspective, but I think far too many of us don't. This kind of thing could be a spring board for a career for people, just like the military is now. Others would simply do their time and go back to the business of their lives, but this could and should be used in a complementary fashion with someone's life goals (Nona working summers in a community legal assistance office, you going into the military and gaining admission into the Air Force OCS, etc.). Bottom line I think it could help people grow up and help society as a whoile through immediate service and in the long run as we all become better people.

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