One Year of National Service

12/22/2020

Our Common Purpose Strategy 6 Recommendation
This final strategy focuses on commitment to Constitutional Democracy and to one another:
Establish a universal expectation of a year of national service and dramatically expand funding for service programs or fellowships that would offer young people paid service opportunities. Such opportunities should be made available not only in AmeriCorps or the military but also in local programs offered by municipal governments, local news outlets, and nonprofit organizations.
How effective would this initiative be in unifying our nation and instilling a sense of commitment to the common good among young US citizens.?

2 Comments

Stephanie Schlanger

1/3/2021 10:26:49 am

Great idea! As a former high school teacher, I've seen the need for our young people to be able to participate actively in their communities. A year of service would 1) give them time to reflect on what they really want to do with their lives and further education and/or training and 2) give them an immediate sense of purpose and value. Having worked with many groups of student in community service activities I've seen first-hand how much "growing up" goes on when young people are doing things that seem real and immediate to them. Also, having just seen the statistics on how increasingly racially segregated our young people are in high school (another big problem that must be addressed), community service would expose them to people to people who are different from them--absolutely essential if we are to become truly multi-cultural. Right now, we all seem to be living in self-regarding and values reinforcing bubbles-- we need to share experiences if we are going to have a shared experience as a country.

Virginia McCallum

1/3/2021 02:42:07 pm

I heartily agree. This is a conversation I’ve experienced for decades and my impression is the following description is the most thoughtfully considered I’ve heard.
(1) National Service should be a requirement for all citizens starting at the same age young males are required to register for military service, That is all genders register.
(2) Every one must select military or non-military service. So service to the nation is required but not, necessarily, military service.
(3) Some minimal payment must be made for the period of service.
(4) Length of service vary according to military or non-military. military: 2 years; non-military 2.5 years.

This seems a good starting point for a national service requirement discussion.
(5) Obviously, there will be serious resistance to any such requirement; so how can it be made politically viable to the American public?
Perhaps starting with service to the home state — something like the National Guard in each state.
Including some of the classes J,D. Vance describes in his book “Hillbilly Elegy”?

Include someway to prevent the wealthy from buying their way out through bogus private physician provided exemptions?

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One Year of National Service

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