In my travels with Senator Dodd I've heard him talk about his time in the Peace Corps a lot. Around kitchen tables and in back yards of New Hampshire and Iowa, Senator Dodd tells people why he joined the Peace Corps: because an American President asked.

John F. Kennedy reached out to a generation of Americans and a generation answered his call. They joined the Peace Corps. They joined VISTA, the Department of Justice, worked for civil rights, and served in the military. They were united in purpose of making America a better place and raising our standing in the world to reflect the dignity that our nation held.

Despite hearing Senator Dodd talk about the source of his impetus for entry into the Peace Corps many times, the story has always sounded foreign to me. As a twenty-five year old Gen Yer (or am I a “Millennial”?) I can say with certainty that the same culture that JFK set when he famously uttered the words “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country” does not currently exist in American political sentiment, at least not in the scale as forty-six years ago. The idea of Americans being asked by our President to serve our country — not just shop —  by standing up and contributing time and energy to making this country and our world a better place simply is absent from the political culture that I have grown up in.

And that is a tragedy.

America is at its best when Americans work together. Our country's standing in the world is improved when Americans go beyond our borders to help Senator Dodd understands this and his American Community Initiative asks the question that my generation, at least, has not been asked.

Serving our country and coming together in our communities may not be something that sits at the top of most people's laundry lists of issues (my personal one, for those interested readers: ending the Iraq War, restoring the Constitution, and making sure every American has health care). But that does not mean that the need doesn't exist.

It also shows what kind of leader Chris Dodd is and will be as President.  So far he has taken a firm, clear stand on ending the war, he’s the only candidate to call for a corporate carbon tax, and now he’s called for mandatory national and community service for high school students.  It’s clear to me that Chris Dodd is the only candidate that is speaking with honesty about the problems we face and has the conviction to do what needs to be done to meet those challenges.     

I hope that there continues to be a debate about Senator Dodd's national service plan. We need this conversation to continue. But I think the best way for this vision of a renewed American patriotism to be realized is for Senator Dodd to be elected President in November 2008.