By Bill McCauley, ’69

A powerful way to address the accelerating breakdown of civil society in America is to seriously consider a National Service program for all 18-to-25-year-olds, as proven successful in other free countries.

By instituting such a program, America could begin the long process of bringing people of all races, creeds, and genders back together again with a unified vision of equality of opportunity for all, as envisioned by our Founding Fathers.

Origins of Wokeness

Both the vision and the reality of equality of opportunity for all has been steadily eroded since LBJ’s introduction of the various programs of the Great Society in 1964, which served as the foundation for America’s growing welfare state.

Although well intentioned, the Great Society’s fatal flaw was that it guaranteed equality of outcomes (Equity) at the expense of equality of opportunities, thereby reducing individual initiative and incentive.

The Great Society paved the way for the current Great Divide. Covid was a convenient excuse for the Progressives to create the Mother of All Great Societies, with an explosion of ill-conceived bailouts directed to broad swaths of American society, and quickly adding trillions to our national debt.

A powerful complement to such disincentives to work is the proliferation of DEI programs throughout government, academia, and the military. DEI is code for affirmative action, which is illegal in nine states. On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of race in college admissions.

Until merit and excellence are reinstated as the key determinants for advancement, America will not recover from the insidious and deleterious effects of these bankrupt policies. Without a renewed emphasis on thoughtful incentive programs, America´s continued decline is assured. And, if not addressed soon, it might be too late to put America back together again.

Possible Solution

With a National Service program, kids from lower-income communities would be mixed in with kids from the country clubs during their service-corps boot camps.

This melting-pot experience is a powerful and memorable indoctrination, and it would serve to peel back the vestiges of inequality of opportunity as, in this microcosm of society, all privileges would be earned based on merit, performance, and excellence. The program would be all about being part of a team among equals.

During their training, these kids would be taught that freedom is not free, nor is the service coming from our government. Once they have served in one of a variety of service-corps programs around the country, they will appreciate the key tenet of this program—i.e., quid pro quo.

And they will observe the benefits of meritocracy and excellence as the key determinants of advancement. If they want to be “served” by any of the myriad social programs of our government, they must first show that they have “served” their country. Importantly, this does not have to be military service.

Reference. Creation of such a National Service program is a tall order, especially in today´s Woke society, but it is time to start the process, as Major General John Borling, a former Vietnam POW, has done with: www.sosamerica.org

This article is part of the book, Don’t Give Up the Ship