Customer Reviews

A Call to Service: My Vision For a Better America

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Far be it for me to evaluate the ideas of a presidential candidate. I do have opinions about how well Senator Kerry communicated the ideas in the book. It seems to me that he did an average job for a politician.

It is important that political candidates write books. Television loves "sound bites" which are too short to express a whole idea that is more complicated than "love your Mom." Advertising is usually full of mud slinging and labels rather than details. Debates are all about accusations.

In case you do not read the book, here is a summary of the ideas presented in the book:

1. International action by the United States should be done in concert with the international community, involving established organizations like the United Nations and the IMF. So we should not have gone to war with Iraq until an international consensus had been built.

2. President Bush has done a good job of leading the military into action, but has not balanced that leadership with diplomacy and international cooperation to make our positions as strong as possible.

3. Nations like France, Russia and Germany need to be more cooperative in dealing with international problems.

4. The United States needs to become a model of the benefits and superiority of proper behavior in a democracy.

5. Domestic economic policy should shift from tax cuts on unearned income for the rich to developing jobs through tax incentives to create new jobs, new technology to expand domestic employment, a higher minimum wage, and better education for all Americans.

6. Schools need to be improved by funding "No Child Left Behind" and structural changes in public schools to make them more effective.

7. The U.S. needs to become less dependent on Middle Eastern oil by establishing new technologies to use solar, wind, and water power. He would also like to accelerate the development of more high tech sources of energy.

8. The environment should receive more protection than it is getting now. We should go back to being an international leader in this area.

9. Health care costs need to be cut immediately and bureaucracy taken out of the system while expanding coverage to almost all Americans in inexpensive ways.

10. College should become universally available to those who are willing to prepare, with economic incentives to make this easier.

11. All young people should be asked to do 2 years of community or military service after they are 18.

12. Where we do not have the money to solve problems, we should encourage voluntary efforts to make up the difference.

13. Veterans should receive a fairer shake on their medical care.

14. States should get the financial aid they used to receive for federal programs.

In many cases, the points were raised so generally that it was unclear how they would be implemented . . . or how well the implementation would work. That's where the stump-speech style got in the way of communication. I found the suggestions about how to change medical care to be the least clear, and I would have liked to know more. In particular, it would have helped to see some documentation of "why" the proposed changes would work better where the suggestions are new.

The book also portrays a series of principles that he urges future presidents to follow:

1. Represent all Americans rather than just your voting bloc.

2. Keep your campaign promises.

3. Work in cooperation with the other political party.

4. Focus on creating conditions that allow citizens to succeed on their own.

The book also recounts his experience as a Vietnam war protester, prosecutor, a lieutenant governor in Massachusetts, and as a long-time member of the Senate in dealing with these issues.

Most of the ideas are expressed in terms of precedents by former presidents. Senator Kerry most often seems to be echoing the "Ask not what your country can do for you . . . but what you can do for your country" charge made by President Kennedy in his inaugural address.

I thought the most revealing parts of the book involved his descriptions of accommodations he has made with Republicans in the past to accomplish bi-partisan objectives. That part rang true with me. The only time I have met Senator Kerry (although I live in his home state of Massachusetts) was at a conference in Washington in October 1987, when he had only been a senator for a few years. My host was a Republican senator, Larry Pressler. Senator Pressler arranged for a number of ranking Republicans to meet with us, and Senator Kerry was the only Democrat he invited. It was clear at the session that Senator Kerry felt that he should reach out to Republicans to accomplish important tasks.

I hope that we will have more opportunities to learn about Senator Kerry's detailed thoughts on how to deal with our many pressing problems.

As I finished the book, I realized that I have become accustomed to thinking of politicians in terms of their parties and their foibles. It would be refreshing to think of them instead as standing for important principles of excellence, helping all Americans, and being a good role model.

For those of you who don't already know John Kerry, this is a great way to learn what makes him tick and what he finds important. Unlike the sound bites we usually hear in the media, this book actually details Kerry's well-thought out and progressive solutions to many of Americas's problems. The topics range from foreign policy and domestic issues to the environment and veteran affairs. You'll walk away from this book with a much clearer sense of the man and his vision for our country, as well as a profound respect for this dedicated and courageous public servant. I recommend it highly to anyone who wants to make an informed decision about a presidential candidate.

This book will not only help you to get to know Senator John Kerry, it will make you feel good again about America! It is serious stuff, but it is not technical, tedious reading. There are quotes from heavy weights in the history of our country like Abraham Lincoln, yet in no way did I feel like I was reading a history book. I am buying ten more copies to give as gifts.

A lot is written about what we're supposed to do for our country- but this man actually has done it. When he was my age, he not only had earned 3 Purple Hearts, but he had the guts to stand up to Congress. I can't imagine doing anything like this. And I would like someone like Kerry to be our President.

This book isn't preachy, and it's not overlong. I encourage you to check it out.

John Kerry's book A Call to Service is a basic overview of his plans to wrest our country from Bush Inc. He's got plans to help our environment, create jobs, a new clean fuel economy, and rejoin the community of Nations. Our country and world will again be safe when President Kerry is sworn in on Jan. 20th, 2005. We've had so many disasters since Jan. 20, 2001 and it's time to get back on track with a man of intelligence, depth, progressive worldview, and get on the road to peace and prosperity.

The whole world is waiting for November to see whether we will have 4 more years of disasters or a new direction. It's a hard road until then and if Bush wants to make national security a campaign issue Kerry has 3 words he knows Bush understands: BRING IT ON!!

John Kerry will bring honor and integrity back to the White House. He is a man of courage and will be a President for all Americans. George W. Bush is a failure and he has jeopardized this nation's future. We need John Kerry to get us back on course.
This book is a great introduction to what John Kerry stands for as a man and what he will do when he becomes President.

It is silly to attempt to change a person's political views by reviewing a book but the earlier reviewer seems to want to throw negative punches. The book shows a man's hope and dreams for his country and of course it is political. It is clearly written and outlines some sound ideas. Those who oppose Kerry will mock it but undecided and Democratic voters will gain more insight about the man and his focus. The book serves its intended purpose well.
Scotty

Reading "A Call to Service" is like seeing a roadmap out of the mess this country is in. Sen. Kerry outlines exactly where we need to go and exactly how we're going to get there. His solutions to the country's problems are extensive and thoroughly reasoned - the product of a mind totally prepared to lead with passion and brilliance. In the book, John Kerry lets us into his personal life and we see the impact his passion for justice and equality has had on his 20-year struggle in the US Senate. This is they guy with the combination of domestic and foreign policy experience, vision, intelligence and legislative know-how that we desperately need at the highest level of government.

I say you can define a man or woman by the words they choose to form their literary expressions. The best leaders are the most effective with the hearers to whom they are addressing band together to seek common goals to help the many with the chosen few.

This book is proof John Kerry is one of those special candidates cut from the cloth of serious politics to cause serious changes in the common lives of each citizen.

Senator Kerry is a slow talker reflecting his thoughts carefully so he can be accurate on listening to solutions and then forming a consensus to reach goals, our nation needs at this time. John Kerry is such a "Quiet Man with a big punch!"

I found his ideas around education innovative and insightful. I feel he could use his influence with the Teacher Unions to bring real reform to our schools. He advocates the need for accountability from student to parents, parents to teachers, teachers to students.

Some of best ideas to help the masses came from Unions asking ideas from their membership. John Kerry can bring this together so America's future is brighter tomorrow due to well-educated children. I would love to see a two-shift school day whereby our taxes go directly to students and teachers not facilities to house everyone all at once to employ janitors.

John Kerry has his work cut for him as a presidential candidate, senator, and party leader. His first work must be the reformation of Democratic leadership if he expects to achieve his goals as written in this book.

The bottom line is Democrats with only the presidency can no longer change anything. Surely such a strange inconvenient unnatural tradition of being out of power is not likely to have been invented but is based on facts. And if so the events associated with that loss of traditional Democratic power must take place today to secure the Democratic Party for tomorrow.

However, I do not agree with what I read on Kerry's energy plan that is Pro-Caribou and Anti-Coalminer. The Democratic senator makes a grave mistake if he thinks defending Artic Deserts for Caribou over America energy need is a worthy goal. America needs to wean us from "the wrong energy programs that ignore the right energy sources controlled by the wrong people until we can perfect cleaner ones for everybody.

I find it like trying to preserve stagecoach jobs after the train and automobile was invented. Looking to replace oil, coal and gas is just fine but until you do, why not drill, mine and find what we need in the meantime? Russia has much of it, why not help them find it and sell it to us?

And please Gun Control has no basis in our nation at this time. All it does is divide Democrats, there is no way to remove over 90 million guns on the streets and many more fair-minded people feel safer with guns than without them.

I came way from this book knowing John Kerry is prepared to be a good President because he is already a good senator and always tries to improve being just a thoughtful citizen. He is not a vanity candidate but one of substance with solutions. The book outlines a few too!

I'm simply a Retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer who stands on a Firm Belief that we have some challenges to resolve. Our Nation needs to consistently move forward - in all directions imaginable. Progress requires Leadership. Accomplishment requires People Working Together.

In 1996, well-known author, James Michener, writing "This Noble Land," provided us 13 questions he asked of the Nations and Communities that he lived in, worked in, and wrote about:
1. Has the nation been able to create a stable society?
2. Does the nation provide a reliable money system?
3. Does the nation have a political system that ensures peaceful transitions of power from liberal to conservative and vice versa?
4. Does the nation provide its citizens, especially the young, with adequate health services?
5. Does the nation provide effective schools, colleges, universities and schools for industrial training?
6. Does the nation provide free libraries?
7. Does the nation provide adequate employment opportunities for the young person as he or she approaches adulthood?
8. Does the nation provide a financial/taxation system that helps keep the difference between the very rich and the very poor at an acceptable level, and does it encourage the development of a moderately well-to-do middle class of entrepreneurs?
9. Does the nation provide churches for the moral guidance of its people and especially its leaders?
10. Does the society provide recreational opportunities?
11. Does the society provide access to museums, opera houses, symphony halls, theaters, parks, and zoos?
12. Is the nation able to balance the different cultural and ethnic and racial groups within its society, and does it treat all such groups equitably?
13. Does the nation provide an orderly system whereby the interests of the aged are protected from the ravages that overtake them?

In my humble opinion, I truly feel that John Kerry, as he lays out his Agenda in, "A Call to Service," is prepared and capable to provide the Leadership our World's Citizens need to Move Forward and Work Together.

From "A Call to Service," I willingly started a discussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/veteransforkerry and an international group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/veteransforprogress for Veterans of the Armed Forces of All Nations to openly discuss our World Community needs and, prayerfully, come together to propose working agendas based on our Community and Fellow Citizen's needs and concerns.