Do we need a “National Service to Country” program in the US?

[Ginger R]

No, not hardly. No way should people be forced into what you are suggesting.

 

[Southernmiss]

Young adult-teens and early 20s- have so many more opportunities today with hard courses, electives, plentiful jobs, etc.

The youth I know do a whole lot more good in the world than adults who come up with their own ideas of 'kids these days'.

I think we need more adults (retirees) to get involved in the lives of young adults to see what they are doing and what they face.

We need to be the change in our world.

Turn off the media. Get involved in your community. There's much work to do.

 

[georgina]

The issue is that very few choose to do so, for various reasons. I have been watching reports on the local news about how public pools are either remaining closed or opening limited hours due to lifeguard shortages. Between that, and the huge number of job openings I see for entry level fast food and retail, it’s becoming obvious that teens and young adults aren’t working summer jobs anymore either. There is a lot of speculation about why, but I lay the blame on social media.

I don’t have a solution to the problem, but I hope someone a lot smarter than I am can figure it out soon. I think a mandatory program might make the situation worse. People have to want to be productive members of society. You can’t make them that way by force.

People don't want crappy low paying jobs? Let's think about who used to take those jobs, and look at the decrease in legal immigration over the last few years.

 

[Southernmiss]

Has anyone noticed how short summer break is now?

Many schools go year round. The teens do not have a big break anymore. And often have extracurricular activities and responsibilities that prevent them from getting jobs.

The national unemployment rate is extremely low for many reasons.

There are more jobs than people to go around.

Many people died or retired in the pandemic.

Why don't we demand that retirees get jobs?

 

[OKW8297]

Do we need a national service to country program or the re-enactment of the draft in the US? This past weekend there was a mass shooting in Philadelphia, a city I live fairly close to and one of several other shootings in other cities throughout our country. It seems from the photos I have seen that the participants/victims are mostly young people. Why is this happening? What is wrong with these kids that they seem to think it’s ok to shoot each other? Why do they even have guns in a city? I think part of the problem is that these young people have too much time on their hands, they don’t seem to have any responsibilities or respect for others.

I don’t think we had these issues to the extreme we have today prior to the draft being dismantled. The young adults were either drafted or enlisted to the military where they were forced to grow up or they went to college. No more mommy or daddy there to take care of everything and fix things for them. In the military they learned to appreciate what they have here in the US. They didn’t have time on their hands to get into trouble like they do today. They learned to take orders and have respect for others and for their country.

I think we need to re-enact the draft or have a national service to country program that would be handled similarly to the draft. The draftees would live in barracks and undergo rigorous physical training just like they would if they were in the army, navy, air force or marines. If they don’t go into one of the branches of the military, they would do things to help the country like rebuilding the roads and bridges or building affordable housing. These are just two examples of what they could do; I’m sure there are many other areas where their service could be utilized. While doing these things they would also be learning a skill or trade that could be carried over to a good paying job once their “tour of service” is completed.

I’m curious to know what others think. Do you think this is something that could help to curb some of the gun violence that we see so much of in our country today?

WHAT!? no. Just no. I can’t respond the way that I want to without getting banned.

 

[Frwinkley]

We couldn't even get people to wear masks...no way.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

My school had an armed service system, where you could pick between armed service and apply the skills you learn there. I was part of the Naval Cadre Group, specifically FAA (Fleet Air Arm, the Navy's Air Force) and it was BRILLIANT. You learned drill, ceremonial dressage, small and large arms such as MP5s and SA-80s and the Phalanx system, Community Service, rotary and fixed wing aircraft general usage such as Lynx and Merlin helicopters, SAT-Range exercise, Damage Control... it was AWESOME. You learned so much, it disciplined you gave you respect for weapons and the kit at your disposal... best few years of my life, ascending to the rank of Warrant Officer It even gave me the leadership qualities and skills to command the A grade shooting team and we won every competition we entered into, including the Country Life and the Sutton Vase Competitions.

Great times.

 

[Southernmiss]

There are ROTC programs on high school

Opportunities are not the issue.

 

[ronandannette]

Would you like to know more?

A year (or so) of mandatory National Service actually sounds like a not-bad idea to me. What's wrong with the idea of young people actively contributing to the best interests of their nations? Many progressive, first-world countries have mandatory military service including Austria, Bermuda, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland and Israel. With the exception of Israel, it's been several generations since any of them were put in combat situations.

 

[runwad]

Yes OP I agree with you! We've become a nation of people who only care about themselves. I see only positives that could come out of a program like that.