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A Call for National Service: Building a Stronger, More Compassionate America
A perspective from Nathan Boucher
America stands at a crossroads. Our youth are graduating into a challenging job market. The aging population is growing faster than our care infrastructure can handle. And our nation is grappling with a crisis of civic disconnect, loneliness, and division. What if one bold idea could begin to address all of these problems at once? It’s time for the United States to embrace a national service requirement — not just military, but one that includes civilian service in areas like AmeriCorps, aging care, and community health.
Imagine a nation where every 18- to 24-year-old spends one year serving their country — not just in uniform, but in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and community organizations. Some would choose the structure and discipline of military service. Others would opt to work as certified nursing assistants, home health aides, or in programs like AmeriCorps, helping communities rebuild after disasters or tutoring in underserved schools. All would contribute. All would grow.
The benefits are manifold. First, national service would equip a generation with valuable work experience. Many young Americans struggle to gain traction in the job market — a year of structured service offers a critical first step. Participants would build real skills: time management, teamwork, empathy, resilience. Whether they go on to college or career, their resumes would reflect not just credentials, but character.
Second, national service can help solve the present and growing crisis in home-based care. The workforce responsible for supporting older adults — particularly those who rely on Medicaid for home and community-based services — is shrinking and underpaid. These services are already in crisis, with waiting lists in nearly every state. A robust civilian service corps trained to provide essential support could fill critical gaps, easing pressure on families and caregivers while delivering compassionate care to our citizens most in need.
But the value of service isn’t only practical — it’s moral. Requiring young people to serve fosters empathy and understanding. Whether a young adult from a coastal city finds themselves helping an aging farmer in rural Iowa, or a high school graduate from the South teaches reading in a struggling inner-city classroom, national service builds bridges. It creates shared experiences across lines of race, class, and geography. This is how we cultivate not just a workforce, but a more unified society.
There is global precedent for this. Countries like Israel, South Korea, and Switzerland require military service, but many also offer alternative civilian options. Germany, for instance, maintained a robust civilian service track for those who objected to military service — often in hospitals, nursing homes, or aid organizations. France recently introduced a program of universal national service, with both military and civic options, designed to promote social cohesion. America can learn from these models — and improve on them — by ensuring civilian options are not afterthoughts, but vital and respected pathways.
Critics may worry about the cost. But this is an investment — in people, in communities, and in the health of our democracy. The return is a generation of engaged citizens, a strengthened caregiving infrastructure, and a more compassionate national culture.
Others may raise concerns about freedom and choice. But national service can be flexible. A one-year commitment with options across sectors, timelines, and geographies respects individual autonomy while still fulfilling a collective duty. Just as jury duty is a shared civic responsibility, so too can service be.
The time has come to rekindle a sense of shared purpose. National service is not about forced labor — it’s about purposeful contribution. It’s about reminding each young American that they matter, and that their country needs them — not just as voters or consumers, but as builders, healers, and protectors of our national fabric.
Let us imagine what America could look like if every young adult had the chance — the obligation — to give back for just one year. Let us envision cities with stronger schools, rural towns with reliable aging care, communities rebounding from disaster, and young people stepping into adulthood with dignity, direction, and purpose.
This is not idealism. This is common sense. Let’s build a national service requirement that lifts us all.
Dr. Nathan Boucher is associate professor of medicine, public policy, and nursing at Duke University
“Viewpoints” on Chapelboro is a recurring series of community-submitted opinion columns. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work or reporting of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com.
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