This Memorial Day, Reinvest in Service

Today, as we remember the service men and women who fought in all of America's wars, we should rededicate ourselves to our communities and the importance of service. Memorial Day is not merely a day on the beach or summer barbecues, but a time for reflection and dedication to those who sacrificed their lives and fortunes for us. It is our duty, as civilians, to make sure their sacrifice is not in vain. For us, we can make an impact serving our communities through volunteering and contributing our skills and time. There are problems small and great across America and its communities, but each of us has much to contribute.

I understand community service may be hard for many of us, especially those working in demanding professions like the law. I have been guilty myself of not doing as much I had aspired. But an aspiration for service can break, even transcend, any barriers time or circumstance may place. My mentor told me that a passion is something for which one is ready to drop everything else and toil without renumeration. There are ways to serve our communities regardless of your passion(s).

For many people, education is a passion. With our country's education system and its underpinnings for a successful future in peril, many have embraced education reform as their life's calling. College graduates founded and done Teach for America. Experienced professionals started charter schools. Joel Klein abandoned the practice of law to become the chancellor of New York City's schools for eight years. In fact, New York is one of the breeding grounds for education reform. There is much to be done, as several good articles in the New York Times reminded us that race and de facto segregation continue to be a problem in public and charter schools, even fifty-eight years after Brown.

Whatever the passion or cause, a lifetime devoted to service is worthwhile lived. For many us trained in law or business, service is easily forgotten because of short attention spans or too little time. I think the problem is less acute for our colleagues in medicine, who are more closer to serving individual people and remain more of a profession. Regardless of the difficulties, we need to make sacrifices to serve. Service is not an easy choice - it is often fraught with dilemmas of its own - but is the right choice. Those who served in the military sacrificed the ultimate, their lives, so we can live in peace and prosperity. Let us do them proud today and onwards.