Pheisty is going after John McCain and his latest fund raising effort:

I’m here to say that I don’t give a damn about my country if my country doesn’t respect my personal liberty and freedom.  What good is American patriotism if it leaves out the entire reason why we should be patriotic in the first place?  I’m sure that there are many patriots in Iran, just as there were many ‘patriots’ in Communist Russia, Imperial Japan, and Nazi Germany.  America’s patriotism is unique because it is based upon the freedom of the individual, and the inherent rights of human beings.  Patriotism itself is not an admirable quality unless it is based upon individual rights.

Of course, John McCain and Barack Obama are both making a big push for national service... though I'd say John McCain is actually being a lot more forward about it:

The one big exception to this trend is AmeriCorps, the program of national service begun by President Bill Clinton. Since 1994, more than 200,000 Americans have served one-to-two-year stints in AmeriCorps, tutoring school children, building low-income housing, or helping flood-ravaged communities. AmeriCorps members receive a small stipend and $4,725 in college aid for their service. But the real draw is the chance to have an adventure and accomplish something important. And AmeriCorps' achievements are indeed impressive: thousands of homes constructed; hundreds of thousands of senior citizens assisted to live independently in their own homes; millions of children taught, tutored, or mentored.
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If we are to have a resurgence of patriotic service in this country, then programs like AmeriCorps must be expanded and changed in ways that inspire the nation. There should be more focus on meeting national goals and on making short-term service, both civilian and military, a rite of passage for young Americans.
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In the past, it has been a rite of passage for our nation's leaders to serve in the armed forces. Today, fewer and fewer of my congressional colleagues know from experience the realities of military life. The decline of the citizen-soldier is not healthy for a democracy. While it is not currently politically practical to revive the draft, it is important to find better incentives and opportunities for more young Americans to choose service in the military, if not for a career, then at least for a limited period of time.

Not to be left behind, Obama recent unveiled similar proposals, though in far less concrete ways... not that this is surprising:

Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled a plan to create volunteer and service opportunities to help tackle some of the nation's most pressing issues, part of his weeklong focus on patriotism and national service.

"This won't be a call issued in one speech or one program — I want this to be a central cause of my presidency," Obama said in a speech at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.

"We will ask Americans to serve. We will create new opportunities for Americans to serve. And we will direct that service to our most pressing national challenges."

Though he seems to waffle a bit on whether this is truly voluntary, for he has declared:

[L]oving your country shouldn't just mean watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. Loving your country must mean accepting your responsibility to do your part to change it.
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[P]atriotism must, if it is to mean anything, involve the willingness to sacrifice - to give up something we value on behalf of a larger cause.
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For the rest of us - for those of us not in uniform or without loved ones in the military - the call to sacrifice for the country's greater good remains an imperative of citizenship.

It's like I'm reading Heinlein all over again.  McCain's jab at those who have not served in the military is especially interesting... as if he is declaring that a requirement of elected office is military service.  It's also a rite of passage... as if people who have not served are somehow less mature and not entered an important phase of life yet.  Obama is no better.  You must give up something for a larger cause... but he's the only one who can tell you which cause is large enough.  Starting a small business from scratch, or simply raising and educating a family isn't big enough.  No... you must do something of his choosing as well.

While they warm the cockles of many people's hearts... these are all horrible ideas for those of us who value limited government (and that should be all of us).  Not to be satisfied with taking our money from us and spending it on whatever whim and social experiment they see fit so I have less for my family, they now want to take my time.  And just like this incredible taxing juggernaut has become self sustaining, can you imagine what would happen if the government had at it's disposal a cheap work force like this?  They'd be dying to create more and more projects that they could implement.

While these ideas seem to be based on voluntary service, there are many in Congress who at different points in times have tried to pass laws creating schemes like this that are required by law.  Even McCain prefaces one of this statements by saying "while it's not politically practical to revive the draft".  Not that it's a bad idea... it's simply not politically practical.  Translation?  He wants to bring back the draft.

One of the great advantages of an all volunteer military is the idea of the re-enlistment veto.  When a country has at its disposal a force of people who have no choice but to be there, there is less incentive to be careful with how they are used.  Training tends to be worse, and they are treated as more disposable.  When you have to worry about re-enlistment, that is yet another check on the power of government.  Can you imagine the outlandish projects that would be invented for Ameri-Corps if there were a readymade work force for Uncle Sam?

Get out your check book... along with your pick and shovel.