Heraldnet.com
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2008 3:53 pm
LocalNorthwestNation & WorldPoliticsSpecial ReportsPhotosColumnistsMultimedia 
Herald Editorial Board

Bob Bolerjack,
Opinion Editor
bolerjack@heraldnet.com

Carol MacPherson,
Editorial Writer
cmacpherson@
heraldnet.com


Allen Funk,
Herald Publisher
funk@heraldnet.com

Kim Heltne,
Assistant to the Publisher
heltne@heraldnet.com

Send letters to the editor by e-mail to letters@heraldnet.com, by fax to 425-339-3458 or mail to The Herald - Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.

 
WEEK IN REVIEW
Sunday


Recycling a house: Everett home goes to make ne...
A year after plane crash, pain still fresh for ...
Bart knows his fight is tough
Saturday


Will the bailout help?
Comcast Arena -- 5 years later
County to pay $1 million in slaying
Friday


Young couple leave Everett for worldwide trip
1 in 5 Snohomish County mobile homes could be u...
Cascade High class grades the debaters
Thursday


Victims of Snohomish fire sought a fresh start
Craigslist ad linked to Brinks heist in Monroe
County financial report worsens
Wednesday


Fire too fast to save four in Snohomish
Robber may have fled by floating
Assisted suicide foes find ally in Martin Sheen
Tuesday
Congressmen Inslee, Larsen split on bailout bill
Everett man gets 26-year prison term for pimping
Gloomy picture for Snohomish County finances
Monday


Snohomish County budget: what's at stake
2,000 vehicles stolen this year in Snohomish Co...
Lynnwood may ask neighboring areas to join the ...
 

ADVERTISEMENT

Editorials   Print This Article  Email This Page  Subscribe Now! facebook digg reddit del.icio.us fark stumble

 
ADVERTISEMENT

 
HAVE YOUR SAY
Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor.
You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 300 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another.
Send it to:
E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com
Mail: Letters section
The Herald
P.O. Box 930
Everett, WA 98206
Fax: 425-339-3458
Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).
 
Published: Sunday, February 10, 2008

Make an investment in our future leaders

The crowds at this year's presidential campaign rallies, including the recent ones in Western Washington, have revealed a phenomenon that mustn't be overlooked: young Americans who care, passionately, about their nation's future.

They're not only turning out at rallies, for candidates of both major parties, but at caucuses and primary elections. They're engaged and enthused. By the thousands, maybe millions, they're making the connection between their personal involvement and our national and global success.

If only such fire could be captured, bottled and unleashed on demand.

Well, perhaps it can. The future of the public institutions that make our society work depends on strong, skilled civilian leadership at all levels -- from local to national. National service is an American value that appears ready to be re-energized. Congress should embrace it by passing legislation to create a United States Public Service Academy, a national institution to promote public service and develop competent civilian leaders ready to tackle the myriad challenges our nation and world face.

Such a national civilian university would be modeled after the nation's fine military academies, which provide four years of tuition-free education in exchange for a five-year commitment of service following graduation. But rather than going into the military, graduates would go to work as teachers, police officers, park rangers, or in other critical public service jobs.

As with the military academies, enrollment slots would be allocated by state through a congressional nomination process that ensures proportional representation and keen competition.

A U.S. Public Service Academy would offer a pathway into public service that's largely unaffordable today. Many of today's top graduates whose first choice would be public service go in more lucrative directions because they're saddled with so much college debt. The roughly $200 million annual investment needed would pay off handsomely by drawing some of our nation's best talent into public service, gradually rebuilding a leadership structure that's graying rapidly.

We'd even agree with some local backers of the proposal that the logical place for such an institution is right here in the Northwest, where volunteerism has been and continues to be high.

The youthful energy and passion emerging from this political season has the potential to propel this nation to new chapters of greatness. But it must be nurtured. A U.S. Public Service Academy would do just that.



To learn more about the proposal to create a U.S. Public Service Academy, visit http://uspublicserviceacademy.org.

1. Recycling a house: Everett home goes to make new memories
2. A year after plane crash, pain still fresh for families
3. McDonalds' deep fryer flares flames in Lynnwood
4. Pumped, preened and primed for the public
5. Driver runs but can't escape trooper
6. Speaking of Paris Hilton ...
7. Everett man's legacy will live on in Lynden
8. Bart knows his fight is tough
9. Cold Case: 'There was no reason' for death
10. Crews respond to power outages
Enterprise Newspaper Snohomish County Business Journal
Cedarcrest's running game, defense stop King's
Shorewood beats Glacier Peak in conference opener
Fernandez named Archbishop boys soccer coach
Team Peggy comes out in force at ALS walk
King's girls poised for threepeat in Pasco
A lifetime together in Lynnwood
The battle over Cascade's student paper
Mill Creek celebrates 25th anniversary
Public hearings scheduled on school closures
The Enterprise Online Newspaper

TODAY'S TOP JOBS
 View All Top Jobs 
Top Cars
Top Homes


ADVERTISEMENT