To heal divided country, require national service
For many of us, the last time Americans felt a common bond was in the days after 9/11. That bond evaporated quickly.
During the 2016 presidential election, both major party candidates pledged to bring a divided nation together, but were short on solutions. In the seven months since President Trump took office, little has changed. It should not take events like the Charlottesville, Va., protests or a war to bring the nation together. An answer can be compulsory national service.
From guns to LGBTQ rights; from immigration to health care, partisan animosity has grown. A 2014 study from the Pew Research Center found 92 percent of Republicans were to the right of median Democrats and 94 percent of Democrats were to the left of median Republicans. That same study revealed that conservatives and liberals, in strong numbers, wish to live, work and socialize with others that share their own views. Therein lies the crux of why our nation is so divided — a lack of understanding of one another’s life experiences.
Involve our young, impressionable citizens in what we all have in common: our republic. This can be accomplished through national service. This idea has been raised at various times since the United States ended the draft in 1973. In 2007, Richard Stengel, in Time Magazine, called for national service as a way to “create a common culture that will make a virtue of our diversity.”
Consider requiring one to two years of national service after completion of high school, or a person’s 19th birthday, if he or she doesn’t complete high school. Service members could choose between military or civilian work (e.g., repairing infrastructure; helping the poor; teaching). The structure for such a program already exists through organizations such as AmeriCorps.
The evidence shows that the desire of young people to volunteer remains strong. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 26.4 percent of teenagers (ages 16-19) volunteered in some way during 2014-15.
There also is the growing number of students taking a “gap” year between high school and college (including Malia Obama). Studies show that those students taking a gap year work more seriously when they return to school; do better academically; and add to their employability in future years. National service would help 18- to 20-year-olds in a similar way.
Perhaps more significantly, national service would force those who don’t think alike to live, work and coexist. This may mean a 19-year-old African American from Oakland working side-by-side with the child of a laid-off steelworker from Youngstown, Ohio. Can you imagine a young Rachael Maddow rebuilding a bridge with a young Sean Hannity?
Of course there would be roadblocks. Pushing forward such a program would take political courage and would be expensive. Exceptions would be needed for young people with financial hardships. Libertarians would argue that government can’t compel mandatory service. The counterargument is that the investment in our future is worth the cost. Bring on national service.