http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/30/bring-back-military-draft
Our governments order it, and it just happens. We shrug, safe that it's not going to affect us one way or the other. If our own apathy troubles us, as it should, it is perhaps our own fault for letting slip one of the core tenets of the world's first democracy. For the ancient Athenians, a non-negotiable prerequisite for citizenship was the completion of compulsory military service and availability in the reserves. To hold public office and voting rights, you had to have skin in the game: quite literally, your own and probably your family's. In short, Athenian citizens could not afford not to care about their foreign policy.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/us-should-have-mandatory-national-service-for-all-citizens/Content?oid=2179665
More than 1 million young adults begin attending four-year colleges each year. As a condition of admission to a public college or to receive federal funds to attend a private college, students could be required to serve their country for up to two years, in civilian national service programs such as AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps or homeland security efforts such as guarding nuclear plants or in the military. Some would choose the military, especially if they were to receive more GI Bill-type college aid as a reward for more dangerous duty.
I know numerous professionals who financed their educations with federal loans, scholarships and fellowships. As a condition of receiving these funds, they could be required to perform two years of national service. Doctors could, for example, serve in veteran’s hospitals or agree to treat a specific number of veterans in their private offices at no cost. So could psychologists and social workers.
Like health care professionals, lawyers who receive federal funds could serve for two years in many capacities. Each day, the VA attempts to deal with thousands of troop benefit claims. Lawyers who are doing their two-year national service could help streamline an otherwise dysfunctional process.
Journalists can serve. We tend to be patient researchers, keen observers and writers of clear prose. Countless federal agencies could use our talents for two years.
Again, all able-bodied, mentally fit citizens could and should serve. We should earn the right to enjoy our great freedoms and amenities that others have died for and will continue to die for.
While I still haven't formed a full opinion on this, this actually seems like it could be a very practical idea, especially if programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps are allowed as well. We already don't have enough jobs for our population, and this would help us to have the manpower to complete enormous projects. It could also strengthen our diplomacy across the globe, because I suspect a lot of people would choose things like the Peace Corps rather than the military.
I know that when someone on NSG posts something "out there," it is often met with a lot of single word responses like "no." But I hope you all will warrant your arguments as well.
