Ask not what graduates can do for the nation. Instead, ask how community leaders and the government can help them do it.

It’s high school graduation time and the halls are ringing with John F. Kennedy’s exhortation to "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

Public service has been prominent in the presidential campaign narratives, and should be a focus at graduations. But such rhetoric is not quite enough to launch this generation into a lifetime of service.

Just as young Americans have redefined social networking through Facebook, they have changed the basic meaning of public service. It no longer denotes a 30-year career in government, but a kaleidoscope of engagement that covers everything from voting to military service.

By Paul C. Light

Full Story: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0609/p09s01-coop.html