Mike the Usurper wrote:
I'm going to agree in part and dissent in part. One place you can balance the "Service" side of this, is with the college side. If college is universal, part of "paying" for it would be the civil defense/civil service side. That seems reasonable to me.

If they are paying for you to go to school, you owe it to them. The military will pay you to go to school if you're willing to do a tour of duty with them. My problem is when they're not paying for you to go to school, but you gotta do their community service anyway. Its like a universal prison sentence.

What I'm very concerned with is what constitutes that civil service? I can think of things that would be of enormous value. Everyone knowing CPR, knowing how to swim, hell, plant some damn trees.

Thats a big question. Of course, I learned how to swim, how to do CPR, and how to plant trees in elementary school. I'm not sure a new program is needed for that. Likely, the answer will be whatever is politically expedient. They seem more interested in the abstract idea of making everyone get involved in a program then what that program might actually consist of.

RE: Emanuel: Time for a new contract on America