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| WHAT ABOUT A REAL CHALLENGE?
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Yes, what about a real challenge like the Military? No, this is not a recruiting comment, but a reaction to a book I recently read called
The Trap.
The thesis of the book is that educated young people have practically no choice but to go into the corporate world and become everything they hate. What about an alternative to this like some kind of National Service. Why couldn't they do it?
Well, according to Trap, they could do National Service, but won't. Young People want a lifestyle that working in corporate America would afford them while inwardly wishing they could pursue some altruistic course.
The book to me is almost beside the point, but a realization that there are scores of young people out there who don't even consider they have a choice. WHY? The reasons are many. My personal favorite is that they need a push. National Service would need a push.
Congress could give a push by passing a law requiring young people to serve their country for two years in some capacity. Lamentably, based on the performance of our Congress in the last several years of both parties, this is a far-fetched hope.
Based on the statistics that come from non-profits like Teach America, some of these upper middle class kids do obviously choose a different course, but there's not enough of them.
If National Service was a requirement, it would be a kind of forced volunteerism and why not? For all the benefits of being an American, why not have to give back from eighteen months to two years in some kind of National Service like Peace Corps, Teach America, Habitat for Humanity, or anything they might desire and, God forbid, maybe even the military could be a choice.
One fascinating thing about The Trap is the fact that it is written by a twenty something. He's a good writer and has good ideas, but imagine what a different book he might have written had he served a tour in the Marines. KT
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