Should Americans be Required to Complete
Some Form of National Service?
Jackie Phillips
Criminology, Post University
English 130, Unit 7
Instructor: Jamie Pacuk
Due: Sunday, June 19, 2022
Should the United States require of all its citizens, both male and female, a mandatory number of years and length of time to perform a variety of paid government and civil duties after they turn 18 years of age? This type of service is required in many countries outside of the US, but so far America has not made this a requirement. There have been similar types of mandatory service in the US, including drafts during active war time, but not since 1973. There is still a current mandatory Selective Service for men between the ages of 18 to 25. This excludes women, which incorrectly assumes that women cannot perform wartime duties. There are many pros and cons and viewpoints and opinions to whether the United States should or should not have mandatory government service for all their citizens. There are many points here in this decades long discussion that review whether there should be a mandatory military or civilian service for men and woman once they reach the age of 18.
A primary argument for having mandatory service is that “Mandatory national service would foster unity and bring people from diverse backgrounds together. Dan Glickman, JD, former US Representative (D-KS), stated that mandatory service would be a solution to our “current dysfunction” because “National service, be it in the military, Peace Corps, or other public or private sector opportunities, breaks down the barriers of race, class, income, geography, and even language. Young adults are granted the opportunity to see their peers and fellow Americans as a member of their team.” (ProCon, July 8, 2021, page 1)
One convincing argument against mandatory service is the huge issue of who decides what should be done and by whom. “But who decides, and by what standard measures, “tasks of value to our country”? No one with even a passing familiarity with Washington should imagine that the labor of four million young people — or, if service were two years, eight million at any one time — would be distributed objectively and dispassionately with regard to the economic and social, as opposed to the political, benefits to be achieved.” (Doug Bandow, February 21, 2019, page 15)
Another persuasive point in this discussion is that it must be clear from the beginning that the people who are doing this work will be properly compensated and rewarded and not taken advantage of. “In order to make the program universal, however, it would be essential for these young people to be paid a living wage and be provided college credit or tuition. Ideally, colleges and universities would be incentivized to provide “debriefing” courses for all incoming freshmen, allowing them to put their lessons learned into context, while receiving introductory civics and media literacy lessons.” (Lilliana Mason, 2019, page 2)
There are many persuasive arguments to ponder when deciding whether to have a mandatory government service, either civilian or military, for people over the age of 18. Maybe the reason why this requirement has not been started is because of the massive amount of people who will be affected, and all these points must first be worked through and clearly defined first. If a single department of educated and knowledgeable people could be appointed to start working on these issues, then maybe eventually this requirement could be started.
References:
Morse, S. (2006). “Should the All Volunteer Force Be Replaced By Universal Mandatory National Service?” Con. Congressional Digest, 85(7), 219–223.
Mandatory National Service - Top 3 Pros and Cons. (2018). ProCon.,
Paula S. Fass, "Young Americans Need Required National Service," blog.press.princeton.edu, Mar. 2, 2016
Doug Bandow, “Mandatory Universal National Service: A Dystopian Vision for a Free Society” CATO Institute, February 21, 2019
Lilliana Mason “Mandatory National Service” Politico Magazine, 2019
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