[speaker001:] Okay, um, yeah, one year public service for everybody. Is that, that was it, right? [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Right. Uh, who wants to start this one?
[speaker001:] Em-, I don't know, I've been, I've been sitting here thinking, yeah, because it was, you know, took a couple tries before I found somebody. Well, you know, I'm like, I'm not really sure what I think about this. Um, uh, I mean, the first thing is, the uh, if it's going to be mandatory, it's got to be mandatory, I mean, everybody, not just like, you know, poor people and all that, you know. But,
[speaker002:] Right, right.
[speaker001:] you know, senators' sons and all that stuff too. I mean, everybody's got to do it. Um, I don't know, it'd probably be, it'd probably be good, I just don't know if, you know, I was eighteen or whatever, I'd want to be stuck doing it for a year or whatever.
[speaker002:] I'm not sure I want an eighteen year old to make that kind of decision. Uh, I mean, that, that doesn't sound right. Um, I guess I see overall beneficial, if, if we're going from that point of view.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Um. I-, you know, in the past, I don't know, I don't know how old you are, but when I was, uh, in high school, it was the beginning of Vietnam and so forth. And many of my peers were being drafted.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And I could see that many of them had conscientious objections to war or whatever. But I, I felt strongly then that even if they didn't feel like they could kill someone, or go into a military situation, that they could help the country in other ways. Be it cleaning out, uh, lots, in, in their neighborhood or,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] whatever kind of community or public service might be available. And I guess I see that as, as not so much a demand but, but a privilege. It's, it's kind of, uh, uh,
[speaker001:] It is, uh,
[speaker002:] It's something, it's, it's since we live here and we all benefit, rich, poor or in between, uh, there are benefits even for those who have it the hardest. I just see that as maybe a good idea. I wouldn't mind doing it at forty-four.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Uh, and I find ways to, to turn some of that back to, to others. Uh, and I, I guess I, I can't see that as being something to really object to.
[speaker001:] Well, I guess it would still depend on how, I mean, if, if you're talking about any-, if you're talking about something that's like a full time, you know, one year full time, you know, this is what you do, you know. You're going to go and, and fill pot holes and, you know, and, you know, all that stuff. I mean, [sigh] I, you know, I don't know [sigh].
[speaker002:] I could see a, a full, a run-, a gamut of different kinds of opportunities. Things that need to be done,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] that wou-, that could be done in an hour or two,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] uh, a day, or several hours of the week. Like a half of a day on Saturday or something like that. In addition to what one does,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] uh, besides that. I, I can't, imagine what kind of, uh, uh, bureaucracies we'd get into and expense having it be full time, oh, you're going to go to this camp and you're going to, you know, like, um, back in the Depression, the C C C,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] the construction corps that went out and did things. That was great, * Why isn't "That was great" an independent slash unit? it was needed, it gave some folks some jobs, and we got some great public works out of it. But, um, I don't see that as being necessary now. I can see it being done, uh, on a regular schedule.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Uh, everybody has to put in so many hours of, uh, public service in a given time, perhaps.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Uh, I, I guess I see all of us benefiting, and I, I don't see it just relegated to the young. But I see, I, I see so much going on that, that's bad. And this would give them a chance to have some positive self-esteem.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Something that they turn,
[speaker001:] Well,
[speaker002:] back.
[speaker001:] and also, you know, you, you feel more like, you know, you're actually part of the community if you've done something,
[speaker002:] That's right.
[speaker001:] in it.
[speaker002:] You take pride in that, and, and get some, some positive feedback from those who benefit,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] besides yourself. And I, I see it being most beneficial if it's in the neighborhood where or, or at least the area where the person lives.
[speaker001:] Uh, definitely.
[speaker002:] It might not be the same neighborhood, but the same city or county, because then you're, you're coming in contact with it. It's not as meaningful for me to go to Minnesota and do something up there that I'll never be able to see again, unless I happen to go on vacation,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] up there.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] It's, it almost needs to be something that has more impact for the individual, on going.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] But as far as putting that into work, I don't want to, [LAUGHTER] I don't want to deal with the, with the heartache of, first of all, getting it started and figuring out how to do the logistics,
[speaker001:] Oh, that would,
[speaker002:] of it.
[speaker001:] be a nightmare. And just, I mean, just getting, getting it going.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] I, I, see a lot of things like, uh, scouting, uh,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Boys Clubs, Girls Clubs, things like that, that kind of get into that citizenship, uh, the uh, looking after the environment sort of thing
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And I guess, I don't see, uh, this being that different. But even more beneficial because it would be something that everybody participated in,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and would take a turn in.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh [pause]. Yeah.
[speaker002:] Do you have kids?
[speaker001:] N-, no, not yet [LAUGHTER]. In about six months we will [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Oh, well good. Th-, you'll have a little time think about that. I guess, I, I have, uh, when I was teaching school I saw many, so many kids that were at loose ends and that didn't really have a purpose. And I can see, you know, some, some really significant things coming out of it.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] I know you've got to get past that, that grudge attitude that many have, but that's, uh, tha-, that would be a part of selling it to the community.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] The adults, uh, ahead of it would probably never serve and, and to each succeeding generation. There definitely would have to be a major P R campaign in each community, each county, * This is clearly 2 slash units. Why wasn't it parsed that way?
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] uh, parish or however the state was divided up. Um, I may, well I don't know, around here we have a number of community projects that folks just volunteer for. Boy Scout troops or church groups or civic clubs will, uh, police a, uh a couple of miles of the highway and kee-, and I, I've seen it in other states too.
[speaker001:] Yeah. They have,
[speaker002:] I don't know,
[speaker001:] that here. Um,
[speaker002:] um,
[speaker001:] they've got, um, in most of the states around here I think, uh. You know, down in North Carolina, there was a big controversy for a while, because they, uh, the local chapter of the K K K wanted to, uh,
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] uh, to participate in it and, uh,
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] there was a, * end of slash unit?
[speaker002:] and there were those that said, No, you can't do that, I'm sure.
[speaker001:] Yeah. * should be indepedent slash unit Well, uh, it was, it was interesting because that's an interesting question, you know.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Should these people be allowed to or not? I think they finally decided not to because they figured that stretch of highway was going to get trashed [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Oh. And I hadn't even thought about that, uh, the, the other end of that. That, that's an interesting, uh, situation. I hadn't thought of that. We had visited relatives in Virginia, not too long ago, and I thought I had seen, when we were traveling around the state, some similar signs up that indicated that certain sections were being policed and cleaned up and,
[speaker001:] Yeah. I think Virginia's got it and I know Maryland does, and we just, we went to Indianapolis last weekend, and back. And, um, I'm pretty sure I saw, yeah, stuff in Ohio and Indi-, Indiana about it and Pennsylvania, maybe Pennsylvania, I don't remember for sure now.
[speaker002:] And I don't know about your part of the country, but, uh, down here in the last, oh, year plus, I, it was las-, beginning with last year's Earth Day
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] There's just been more of a turn toward uh, environmental concerns, and e-, I work for Texas Instruments.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And they, they've started some recycling campaigns that a year before that had been turned down because they said, Well, it's not feasible,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] it's not a good idea. And,
[speaker001:] Yeah. And but then they lost,
[speaker002:] I see that as being,
[speaker001:] too much business [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] I, I see that as being a, a, a change, uh, for the positive. Kind of along the same line as, as, as the mandatory thing. It's just, thing, a part of everyone's consciousness.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. Well, the thing about that is though, it's got a, I mean because it was, I mean it was big, you remember, like in the early seventies and all that. And, you know, and then it kind of just went out of vogue. And I, I'm worried that it, it might, you know, it'll, it, the same thing will happen. It's like, you know, environmentalism was really big for a couple of years and then people like, well, you know, I'd ruther, rather spend, you know, fifty cents less on, uh, on, on such and such, you know, and even if it's not environmentally safe, who cares, you know.
[speaker002:] I'm sure the pendulum will swing the other way. Uh, there have been too many other things that it's done that for, just in my life. And if you look at history at all, you see that, you know, uh, we go from one side to the other on just about any subject,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] that you, one might care to bring up. But, it is comforting to me to see, uh, more concern about some of these things that, that cost us money. Especially when we have dwindling, uh, resources such as oil that's burning out of control in the Persian Gulf, and, and so forth. Just, just every little bit does, it makes me feel better. It, it makes me feel like, well, there may be something left for my children, my nieces and nephews and so forth.
[speaker001:] Well, yeah, uh. Well, uh, wouldn't, it's just probably a good thing that the oil's burning and may, may, make some people realize that hey, you know, this stuff runs out.
[speaker002:] That's, that's right, because,
[speaker001:] Of course, that's probably blasphemy for you to say, uh, coming from where you are [LAUGHTER] in Texas.
[speaker002:] Uh, no, [LAUGHTER] no, because if, [LAUGHTER] we, what was it, seventy-four when we had the, the last last oil crisis? And, uh, we started getting smart and, and we were looking all these alternative sources of the energy and so forth.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And as soon as the oil prices came back down, we, the pendulum swang the other way.
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] And we need those reminders.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] Uh, or we'll suddenly be in the dark and say, Oh, my goodness, now we don't have the ability to go on to some new technology.
[speaker001:] Right. Well, my dad's in the, in the solar energy business, so, uh,
[speaker002:] Ah!
[speaker001:] You know, we're acutely aware of a lot of this. But, you know, on the other hand, he voted for George Bush, so um, [LAUGHTER] you know, I, I wonder sometimes if he knows what he's doing.
[speaker002:] Well, I thi-, you know, just about anybody you could name, whether I voted for them or not,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] uh, makes, um, uh, decisions that I just can't go along with. But that's why they're there and not me. I don't want the,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] I don't want the stress.
[speaker001:] Well, the, the thing with Bush...