America was built on the dogma of communal cooperation, and this "noble" message, rather than being dampened, have been perpetuated and buttressed through the years since its rather humble albeit vague origins. A commitment to community service took root in America on a legislative scale largely beginning in the 1960's, and the commitment later spread to schools with W Bush's National and Community Service Act of 1990. Now, the Corporation for National and Community Service, originating in 1993, stands to "connect Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and their nation," as its website promulgates. And now, there are countless ways that students can give back to their community and countless means—national or local organizations—through which students can achieve such ends. Though now, it all seems but means to ends, rather than intrinsic ends in themselves.
Strikingly tragic is that it's not our fault: In a rising pool of dapper caps and gowns, there is a swelling sense of urgency that, rather ironically, calls for conformity to the College Board's standards while at the same time encourages students to stand out. To be an unconventional conformist is to be admired, though one must wonder about the merits of pushing a fledgling out of the nest, giving it specific instructions—upon which life or death depends—on how to fly, and then telling it to "stand out."
Help first, ask why later. Nowadays, it seems as if there is no time to question, no time to go against the tides; it's help or be helpless—be unwanted—and, as a result, students are often helpless to helping. Yet, no longer are the days of student activism, of passion fueling passion fueling passion; the wildfires have subsided, and what's left is a subdued, demure passivity. Handing out water bottles or signing up runners in a marathon obviously makes a difference in the community, since there are such roles as these that need to be filled and menial tasks that need to be completed. It would even be completely logical to think that such communal events would cease to function in the present day without such student volunteers. But one can hardly say that handing out water bottles is a passion.
Passion isn't something that can be quantified—as we try to do with service hours and log sheets—but for want of a better alternative we often use quantity to assess quality, though the increasing emphasis on quantity has certainly diluted the quality of community service over the years.
It's not more but meaning that means more.