As the military tests new approaches to pulling in more recruits, a controversial proposal has come out of early discussions with one of the Democratic presidential candidates: one year of mandatory national service for every American. Pete Buttigieg, a Navy veteran and the mayor of South Bend, Ind., mentioned the idea in April during an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow as a program to improve social cohesion in the United States. “One thing we could do that would change that would be to make it, if not legally obligatory but certainly a social norm, that anybody after they’re 18 spends a year in national service,” Buttigieg said. (He did not indicate whether this would be military service or expand to programs like AmeriCorps.)
It’s not the first time a form of required national service has been suggested as a way to unite the country. For instance, Gen. Stanley McChrystal proposed the idea in 2014 “to create a new rite of passage into adulthood and forge a renewed sense of citizenship.” The plan didn’t go anywhere, but the introduction of such a concept has prompted debates about whether mandatory national service is undemocratic or whether it’s the path toward a stronger sense of solidarity among Americans. I’ll be curious to see if Buttigieg’s remark becomes a campaign talking point going into the 2020 election.
What are your thoughts on one year of mandatory national service, in the military or in a civic organization? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.
I believe that a year of national service (broadly-based) would benefit 18-year-olds and the country. At 18, my husband, our four sons, and I, were all unready to choose the next step. We all had help in what to do with that next year–college for two of us, and jobs suggested by others for four–all of which paid off generously. During that year three of our sons discovered paths to the work they are doing now. I have wished that I had had an interim job, except that I met my husband in college during that first year, which began most of my path for 65 good years.