[speaker001:] okay
[speaker002:] go ahead
[speaker001:] uh well you know um I think public service is a worthy thing and as a matter of fact there are a lot of programs uh such as Peace Corps that promote that
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] probably the most popular one but uh one that is not typically recognized as such is the Boy Scouts
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] uh I know that from because my son is a a scout now and uh is thinking about his Eagle and uh in order to get Eagle you have to have merit badges in um citizenship in the community citizenship in the nation citizenship in the world
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] and you have to do a public service project
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] uh in which leadership is the key element I um I think the question is posed somewhat strangely because um it's talking about uh a requirement for public service
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] uh and of course Peace the Peace Corps the Boy Scouts is a is a voluntary activity
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] uh
[speaker002:] I I think that might be talking referring to uh something kind of uh alternative to the draft you know either you have uh military service or some sort of alternative nonmilitary service for a few years
[speaker001:] right of course um uh military service falls under the category uh of a public service
[speaker002:] right right
[speaker001:] and so uh one of the things that would fulfill the at least the nominal uh qualifications set forth in the charge is military service or draft
[speaker002:] hm right right
[speaker001:] uh but I agree with you that probably is not what was comprehended there are other things such as civil service
[speaker002:] well you um-hum
[speaker001:] um which many people uh are lifelong employees of but I suspect that that's not what they had in mind either more of a voluntary kind of thing or uh
[speaker002:] right yeah I uh yeah it it for for years there has been an idea batted around of having some sort of alternative uh public service for uh young people to go into uh after high school um it
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] kind of in in lieu of the draft for people for people who don't uh who you know are conscientious objectors or don't otherwise wanna uh be in the military you know say okay well you can go into the military or you can do this other thing for one or two years to kind of serve the community and and learn about things and it's it's it's interesting because I I'm not a particular fan of the military but I have seen a lot of people a lot of young guys go in that don't have really a clue as to what they want to do with their lives and aren't terribly disciplined you know even even just personal discipline about what they want to do and they come out and they they at least have now they have at least some marginally marketable skills and more more discipline and they have uh you know in in some cases they have a greater self-esteem because they can say they can see that you know if I do something pursue submit my own will to the will of the sargent or whatever at least for a short period of time I can accomplish a lot and it it's a good lesson for a lot of young men to learn that they don't need to be you know cowboys they don't need to be out there and uh you know constantly flaunting their ego to get things accomplished and you know for some for some young men that's good for me it would have been lousy idea idea uh because I I did have the the personal discipline and I went to college four years and got out you know so
[speaker001:] why why is that
[speaker002:] but um you know for some people that's good I I don't particular like the fact that it's the military you know and because the whole point of the military is to kill people essentially as as an instrument of US foreign policy
[speaker001:] oh no no no it's to defend the nation against external evils
[speaker002:] well that's one view and you know and that's that's another debate but uh it's um
[speaker001:] well it depends on whether you whether we figure that we have that we have a defense oriented military or an aggressive aggression oriented military
[speaker002:] um-hum right right and just well it's it it seems pretty aggressive aggressive oriented I mean you you look at the last mission military action which was in the Persian Gulf and wasn't anywhere near the United States and it was um you know it was definitely a projection of US power on the other side of the globe so at at any rate this is getting off the topic but it my my point was that there is for people who don't want to do the military service there it would be neat if there were an alternative that could instill the same sort of personal discipline and sense of purpose and um sense of community that do do I guess the Boy Scouts