Non-military National service

[November Rain]

I was thinking whether seeing a national service for all citizens of a country should be re-instated.

However, instead of it being a military based one, it would be one where people get to work in industries that help with the running of a city/town etc

such as road work, telecommunications, sewer work, mail, distibution of magazines, local news broadcasting centres, refuse collection and all those sorts of jobs.

I was thinking of a one year mandatory service before or after uni where you would get a month's posting at each relevant position just in order for people to perhaps provide physically to a community and also become aware of what it entails to keep the status quo running as it should.

the service could be carried out before or after university but one cannot be permitted to work within the country without it. obviously the posts would differ depending on the needs of your community so there would be farmwork posts available for more rural communities and so forth.

I guess one could open it out and say the military could also be an option but it wouldn't be mandatory but it would provide the required credits to allow you to work in the country and would also entitle you to vote.

I think it may help eventually breed better people and closer communities (since everyone will eventually know everyone from working with them for a short time or another) which could lead to economic growth and lower crime rates.

thoughts would be welcome. Thanks

 

[Immortalfire]

Sounds like light communism.

 

[Tyrinus]

People suck. Why should I be forced to help them?

 

[Halcohol]

While mandatory public service for a year is a good idea in theory, in practice there would be a whole lot of people who would complain that their freedom to choose a career had been taken away.

I like it, but like IF said, it's diet communism.

 

[Addendum]

How about we keep things like they are? People work where they like at jobs that they choose

 

[Cosmic]

We already have all kinds of opportunities for volunteers to do community service, and work for charities. There are also careers we can choose that contribute to public service, or community building. The jobs listed above are, for the most part, some of the easiest jobs to get! We pay taxes for the government to maintain our commons, so we don't need to "volun-tell" the average Joe or Jane to go out and do work that we already pay people to do for us. We already have the right to vote, so you can't suddenly add new stipulations or requirements for that.

There's nothing wrong with joining the military, as far as I'm concerned. A lot of people join the military, and gain the skills, education and experience to create civilian careers for themselves and then go on to perform a lot of the public service and community building that you're asking for.

The best way to "breed better people, and build better communities" is to invest in education. Give children great schools and teachers, and provide opportunities for adults to continue their education without drowning in debt.