A Civil Service Proposal

A recent post at FP Passport notes that around 60% of American teenagers are basically uninterested in what’s happening, including the Iraq war. It concludes: “I bet that if the military draft came back, though, you’d suddenly find U.S. teens paying rapt attention to what’s going on out there.”

Indeed and while I’m not pretending most teenagers are supposed to be politically active, it does raise an interesting point. We talk about creating stakeholders in civil society, making people feel like the system is their system too and they too will be affected by it. This is our aim in Afghanistan, Iraq, most of Africa and indeed all over the world. Yet, could young Americans be more active? The answer is yes, but it doesn’t have to be in politics.

Many countries around the world still have mandatory military service. Whether 9 months, as in Germany, or three years as in Israel, through shared experience, it creates a more cohesive identity in younger generations, brings those of different backgrounds (ethnic, religious, class) together and ultimately benefits society as a whole. However, one doesn’t have to put on a uniform to understand what patriotism and a sense of duty mean. Here in Germany, for example, 18 year old males can choose between civil service and military service. There are a variety of benefits to each. Both give people a break between high school and university to think more about their future, learn different skills as well as learn the value of public service.

In a fiercely individualist country like America, one cultural side-effect of this trait is often a lack of interest in the well being of others continuing up to that of the country. In general, Americans are more active in their communities, volunteer more and give more to charity than Europeans, so this is not criticism per se. However, with a continued influx of immigrants and globalization adding multiple layers to citizens’ identities, a program to help instill duty, patriotism and community service could be beneficial.

The benefits, however, don’t end there. Young people could develop new skills (civilian or military), discover new careers, see new places (at home or abroad), learn to be more independent and gain discipline which would later help at school and in the job market. Those with troubled or poorer backgrounds would have the opportunity to escape their surroundings, gain a steady income, job skills, discipline and interact with those outside their own class as well as learning to take their stake in society more seriously rather than rejecting it.

Would mandatory service, regardless of the exact length and nature, be too great an infringement on our personal liberty? Would it be too much government involvement? Are the social benefits worth it?