In January, 2007, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D) of New York introduced H.R. 393; The Universal National Service Act of 2007. This bill would make mandatory national service for everyone 18-42 years old. It is a draft, both for military and “peaceful” purposes.
As the story goes, Rangel introduced the bill as a strong arm tactic to force Bush to get out of Iraq because, according to his logic, people will oppose the war if it looks like we’re going to draft anyone and everyone to fight. Good ol’ Charlie didn’t really want a draft or national service, but he was trying to “make a point.”
Now, we have Time Magazine and a number of “leadership” organizations pushing the national service agenda, and they will invite both major party candidates to a summit on the issue, as both are strong advocates of “service.”
Mandatory service is nothing more than slavery. It denies the right to self ownership, the right of each individual to choose what he will do with his labor. And it is a precursor to a fully militarized nation, an empire run by a few employing the services of the many.
This socialist agenda is being pushed on the nationalistic premise that the state comes before the individual, that the needs of the whole are more important than the selfish aspirations of the individual. It is New Deal II; it is state worship.
It is also the next step in giving government full control over the economy. The dynamics of the free market are to be replaced by central planning, giant public works projects, and government funding of everything.
It was introduced to get a feel for public reaction, and it was met with apathy. The waters have been tested, now it’s time to move forward with full advocacy. It’ll be sold on the public with visions of national greatness, platitudes on the virtue of service, and promise of jobs and education grants. Free stuff from the government for all, and all you need to do is “serve.” Service is virtuous.
It won’t be voluntary, it will be mandatory. Those who resist will be labeled unpatriotic, traitors, perhaps even terrorists, and will be jailed. Thoreau suggested that it is better to let the government try and jail us all rather than to support its totalitarian actions. If involuntary servitude is enacted under the guise of “service,” then the time to resist is upon us.