Finally, a call for service, for sacrifice in this war against terrorism. But first, the tough talk.

President George W. Bush’s State of the Union Address laid out his priorities for a nation at war and wracked by recession. With an 85 percent approval rating, the wildly popular president could do little wrong. On the war, Americans are with him.

In harsh language echoing the era of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, Bush vowed to fight the terrorist “parasites” and any regimes specifically what he called the “axis of evil” formed by North Korea, Iran and Iraq that build weapons of mass destruction.

In a gentler tone and sounding almost Clintonesque in a government-knows-best sort of way, Bush called for bipartisanship in passing more tax cuts to stimulate the economy and create more jobs. Medicare, prescription drugs and Social Security he touched on all of those traditional Democratic issues without getting into specifics. Farm policy, a cleaner environment, more home ownership he covered it all, if only in a word or two. He covered it even when he didn’t say the word Enron by calling for stiffer investment laws in the wake of that energy company’s collapse.

But what struck me most about the president’s speech, what touched my heart, was his call for volunteers. Two-hundred thousand of them.

“My call tonight is for every American to commit at least two years, 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime, to the service of your neighbors and your nation,” Bush said.

Up until now, the president had called on Americans to fight terrorism by being vigilant about things that didn’t look quite right wherever they might be. Oh, and let’s not forget to shop, shop, shop to get the economy going again.

But sacrifice?

If waiting patiently at airport lines can be called sacrifice, that’s about all some Americans have had to do.

No calls for donating scrap metal, or whatever else for the big war effort, as occurred during World War II. Until now, no calls for Americans to join the armed forces, though the number of patriotic young people who enlisted after the atrocity of Sept. 11 certainly has grown. No pleas to save energy or make other changes to our comfortable existence in the name of national security.

Had there been no crumbling towers in New York, no downed plane over Pennsylvania, no gaping hole in the Pentagon’s reinforced walls, no dead innocents and heroes, Bush’s call for volunteers would seem like a little flicker in his father’s 1,000 points of light. Remember that call for volunteers by Bush Sr.? It seemed like a gimmick then.

But having lived through all that we’ve experienced since 9-11, the president’s plea for Americans to volunteer carries a bittersweet note of urgency.

In creating the USA Freedom Corps, Bush hopes to turn us into a “nation that serves goals larger than self.” It’s not a novel idea or a huge program, but volunteerism at home or abroad carries an idealistic appeal. It says each one of us can make a difference, perhaps even change other people’s minds and build bridges with those who otherwise would turn to our enemies.

Aside from seeking retired doctors and nurses, volunteers for police and fire departments and even utility workers to help in homeland defense during times of emergency, the president also called on us to mentor children. And particularly to mentor those kids from homes where a parent is in prison. Those are our throwaway children, the ones facing expectations of mediocrity, of repeating the cycle and turning into another bad apple in our national tree of prosperity.

From a foreign-policy perspective, Bush hopes to expand the Peace Corps’ influence in the Middle East, “to encourage development and education and opportunity in the Islamic world.”

Battling the terrorists in hiding throughout the world, as difficult as that can be, will be accomplished with might and grit. But reaching out to those average citizens in the Middle East who view us as the enemy, that takes even more gumption on our part. That takes heart and soul. It takes compassion.

“I know we can overcome evil with greater good,” Bush said. And you had to believe him.

Nothing can be more American than to seek to do good in the face of evil. Our enemies won’t know what hit them.