I think I would've made a good call-in guest last week on the National Public Radio program \Talk of the Nation."" The program's topic was ""volunteerism,"" and a panel of religious leaders and Peace Corps-type organizers were on the air discussing President Bush's call for more Americans to volunteer.
I would've liked to have called in as someone who has been denied a job by AmeriCorps, the volunteer organization that Bush wants to see double in size in the next five years, but I couldn't get to a phone.
Actually, I couldn't even get to a radio for much of the program. Instead, I was up in a study room at Madison Area Technical College going over pronouns with a friend of mine.
Again and again, I was saying, ""Look, you know what they are. They're words like 'he' and 'she' that can take the place of a noun in a sentence,"" or sometimes I'd pair this up with ""good job"" and ""way to go.""
Every few minutes, I'd throw in a ""see, you're doing great"" or a ""now this isn't hard, is it?"" And in between every one of my comments I'd question the value of what I was doing.
One of the guests on ""Talk of the Nation"" was supposed to argue that most volunteer work and programs, like AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps in particular, aren't as worthwhile as Bush is making them out to be, and that had me thinking.
I've been tutoring my friend at MATC for about eight months, and nearly every week I wonder why I keep doing it. I don't think he needs me anymore, but I continue to spend a few hours with him every week for my own benefit.
At one time, I was confident that my friend would drop out of school and end up back in jail if I didn't encourage him, but I think he's past that now. Now, more than anything, I go to MATC just to hang out with him. I don't offer much help. I just try to steal some inspiration.
Still, even on the days when I feel as though I've been of no help to my friend at all, I feel like I'm doing more good than I've done in any of the half dozen volunteer community-service organizations I've been involved in since I came to Madison.
I've been in a lot of situations where a dozen upper-middle class college students share time with a handful of thankless under-privileged kids who'd rather be at home watching cartoons. It's as if the kids, or sometimes adults, have been forced to receive my ""help,"" and it always ends up being a bad situation all around.
I'm afraid the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps operate in much the same way, and more and more I'm beginning to think these organizations conflict with my own personal ideologies.
I think these organizations might be intruding, just as I've felt I was only half wanted on dozens of occasions when I've ""volunteered."" However, I could be wrong, or I could just be bitter about being denied by AmeriCorps, but I doubt it. Of course, I'd have to ask an expert from NPR to know for sure.
andrewmiller@students.wisc.edu
