It’s been about two weeks since I last sent an email to the ANSA.

To Whom this May Concern

My last two emails have gone unanswered by your organization.
I would appreciate a response to the questions I have listed below.

Editing your website is not an acceptable alternative.

Thank you.

As intended, I will continue to contact them until I receive a reply.

Laurie,

Thank you for keeping us honest.  We are in the middle of ironing the details of our relationship with ANSA.  Unfortunately, we are not responsible for the language on their website in the same way that they are not responsible for the language on our website(s).  I invite you to contact them if you have concerns about the content on their website.  And Of course, continue to email us should you have any questions/concerns about ours.

When it comes to coalition organizations, it’s a bit tricky.  We will  seek to be more explicit about the nature of our relationship before agreeing to have them as part of our coalition.  That being said, we aim to be a big umbrella organization when it it comes national service programs and volunteering.   If an organization supports our agenda as is, not as they interpret it to be, we are more than likely to have them on board because we believe the majority of Americans want to volunteer and should be given the opportunity to do so regardless of their political views, religious affiliations, race, sex, shape or size.

As for the funding, while you make some good points, on some level we are going to have to agree to disagree.   We are asking the federal government to fund the infrastructure that makes volunteering at all levels possible. Studies have shown for every $1 invested in national service programs the government gets $3 back.  We are currently working on several case studies to support these claims.  I would imagine that we will post them on our website once they are completed.   Moreover, a study by the Brookings Institute has demonstrated that participants in programs such as Americoprs and PeaceCorps are more likely to be involved in the political system and run for office after they leave those programs. Additionally, the federal government is not the sole source (or even the biggest source) of funding for the vast majority of the members in our coalition. In fact, private citizens such as yourself do support many of these organizations despite the currently financial hardships.  However, we believe that with slightly more help from the federal government, some of the successful  programs can be brought to scale and give more people the option of volunteering.

Now that you have a better understanding of Be the change Inc and the ServiceNation Campaign, I would like to ask for the opportunity to do a guest post on your blog where we could explain the goals of ServiceNation to your readership and field any comments/questions that we may have.  Of course this will not any way mean that you endorse our organization or the campaign,  but just giving your readership a chance to make up their mind based on facts, and have a chance to voice their concerns as you did.  I hope that you will consider giving us that opportunity.

Best,

–
Henri Makembe
Be the Change, Inc.
202.778.3553 (office)
www.bethechangeinc.org

Blog of Bile has given Be The Change, Inc. the ability to post. If they’d like, we will leave the account open so they may post whenever they desire.

After not receiving a reply from the ANSA to my first letter and after noticing them changing their website a few times, I decided to send them another email:

To Whom This May Concern:

I see that your website has changed to accommodate inquiries on:

• those that wish not to participate in mandatory service
• is mandatory service constitutional?

I have a few questions:

You fail to explain the consequences of not participating in mandatory service.

1. What do YOU think should happen if I or others chose not to participate?

You also say that mandatory service is constitutional, alluding to Supreme Court cases that held civic obligations over individual rights. Just because the Supreme Court has ruled in favor, it doesn’t make it constitutional: Roe v Wade, Jim Crow Laws, Brown v Board of Education. The Supreme Court has changed their opinion before.

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution makes involuntary servitude illegal under any US jurisdiction whether at the hands of the US government or in the private sphere, except as punishment for a crime.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

2. What crime are you accusing me of committing and finding me guilty for?

I also noticed that your organization recently added that they do not prefer either means of national service; voluntary or mandatory.

Americans for a National Service Act supports whichever program works best and gets the job done.

I find the indifference of this statement alarming. Your organization’s vision for this country shows complete disregard for the individual rights and freedoms of the people that inhabit it–the same people that you wish to put into mandatory service if it is “determined” the best program available.

You also mention “gets the job done.”

3. What exactly is the end goal?

4. And what scale will you use to measure when your vision has been attained?

We also believe that in order to sustain that involvement there needs to be a system.

5. Can you elaborate more on this “system” and explain how it would enforce and sustain said involvement?

I’d like to thank you in advance for answering all my questions.

I’ll continue to send them emails until I hear back from them.
As far as I’m concerned, edits to their website are not acceptable responses to my questions.