If you want to help America, start serving

The politics of division have driven us apart, but one thing unites us and that's service. AmeriCorps recruits Americans to help others and through them we can rebuild our broken nation.

I say this as someone who has lived and worked in Washington for two decades with many different partisan leaders at the helm. The deep distrust we feel toward each other won’t be legislated away — it has to be lived away, rebuilt person by person, community by community. Amidst the noise, there’s a quiet force that can begin to repair what’s broken: service.   Michael D. Smith is the chief executive officer of AmeriCorps — the federal agency for service and volunteering. 

It’s tempting to point fingers, to blame others for our problems. But here’s the hard truth: that will not solve anything.