From The Globe and Mail
In the post-Sept. 11 world, Mel believes — like many gun enthusiasts — that Americans must reconnect with their roots as a citizen army.
I seem to be fixated on this article.
The notion of a citizen militia is frightening in some ways: there are already plenty of people out there I wouldn’t want armed with nail clippers. But at the same time, I’m in favor of anything that might bind people together more cohesively, some kind of shared national experience. The oft-mentioned “greatest generation” had that, awful as it was, but as a result, they built the post-war world we live in. After the combined humiliation of Vietnam and the first president to resign to escape prosecution, the connection between citizen and state was broken for many people. Government was more widely mistrusted and public service lost any appeal it once had (for many reasons beyond those I mentioned).
I wouldn’t mind a militia or some kind of uniform, no exceptions national service, but I’d like to be more than just a huge standing army: I’d like to see a modern version of the CCC, or a domestic Peace Corps, non-military but still important ways in which young people at that age when identity and membership in the larger society are hard to figure out could be exposed to and learn about others their age. They may have nothing more in common than the flag under which they were born, but understanding more about the people with whom they share that would a national asset beyond price.