A federal day of service?

At his inauguration, Obama called for a day of service. Now, he has called for Patriot's Day (September 11) to be a day of service.

Only a person who has never been in the habit of service to his fellow man calls for service. Only a person who is not in the habit of giving to charity calls for government to assume the role of charity. Only a man who must be forced to do a good thing believes we need government agencies to manage volunteerism.

Most Americans serve. We serve through our religious organizations, Little League, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Jaycees, PTA, 4-H, the USO, the hospital, dinners and auctions for those with costly injuries and illnesses, blood drives, the widow next door, women's shelters, homeless shelters, animal shelters, Habitat for Humanity, thrift stores, fire departments, police and sheriff's departments, search and rescue, Civil Air Patrol, Community Emergency Response Teams, Red Cross, amateur radio, rape and suicide hotlines, libraries, schools, tutoring, family history libraries, tourism offices, the food bank, Meals on Wheels, soup kitchens, Master Gardener, Girls' State, Boys' State, wildlife and wildlife habitat conservation, Hunter Education, trail and park maintenance, veterans organizations such as Veterans of Foreign wars, American Legion and Disabled American Veterans, community organizations such as Lions Clubs, Elks Lodges and Kiwanis Clubs, Special Olympics, Toys for Tots. We even pick up the trash in the streets. And that's just a sample of what Americans do locally. We travel all over the nation and the globe at our own expense for opportunities to serve. We give more effective help to those affected by war and natural disaster that do all the governments combined.

Service is not a one-off event on a day chosen by a president. It is not a photo-op for pandering politicians. Unlike politicians, we serve when the press isn't around. Unlike politicians, we serve until we are beyond tired and dirty. We serve on more far days that those selected by the president. We don't serve because a president or any other mortal tells us to. We do it because we are Americans and because we are children of God who try to do His will.

Politicians like Obama will never understand let alone see it. People who are dependent on government by habit and family history -- not true need -- will never understand it. None of these will never acknowledge the work that we Americans do without being asked because they think that only things that are government-controlled are important.