Societal values and compulsory National Service

Never one to shy away from saying my bit, I’m well aware that for many readers the headline of this article will be triggering. Mention National Service and one risks accusations of neo-Nazism, militaristic command and control and short men twisted by the glory of a modicum of power. I realise that the very subject is enough to have the left-leaning members of society howling. Not that I’m criticising the left, mind you – I try not to classify myself as either left or right, but many of the things I believe in align with what those on the left of the spectrum would wish for.

Anyway, political leanings are very 1980s. The reality is that people have diverse views and most folks I talk to identify with policy positions from both ends of the spectrum. Who would have thought, human beings are complex and are actually capable of nuanced thought?

Moving on, and back to the topic at hand, I was thinking about National Service recently while bemoaning what I perceive as an abysmal understanding of societal norms and expectations. It seems to me (cue the rant of an angry man) that the values that I grew up with – those of mucking in and contributing – have fallen by the wayside. Volunteerism, an excellent measure of a society’s buy-in to a value set, is plummeting. Whereas only a few short decades ago our Plunket groups, Playcentres, Ambulance services and Fire Birgades were awash in people putting their hands up to help, today they are generally struggling for numbers. To put it simply, we’re all aware of our rights as citizens, but woefully unaware of the obligations citizenship confers.

At the same time as these vitally important organisations struggle for membership, we have an associated dearth of informed debate. Modern media has been reduced to listicles, 10-second soundbites and TikTok memes and our decision-makers (think politicians and policy influencers) have had to dumb down their own messaging to suit a populace that much prefers things cast in a very binary way. Nuance has gone by the wayside as division and polarisation have risen.

You’d have thought, casting your eyes over the Pacific to our US cousins, that the perils of a polarized society would be self-evident. Both the left and the right in the US would instead shout from a perspective of every decision being a zero-sum game, then actually articulate a more nuanced position.

So where you might ask, lies the connection between informed debate and a more active model of contributing as a member of society? Can we conflate National Service with being aware of societal realities?

I can already hear those who point out, with quite some justification, that in the US there are plenty of examples of highly polarized and rabidly right-leaning perspectives coming from those with a history of national service. I’ll accept that sometimes an unintended consequence of national service, at least the way it is modelled by the US military, is a less than pleasant ultra-nationalism and elitism.

But that perspective ignores the positive examples of national service. In my travels, I’ve come across individuals who have performed national service not through military agencies but through other means. Good examples include the US Peace Corps, where young individuals volunteer on development projects around the world. In our own neck of the woods, I’ve seen people who have spent time pursuing other approaches – from work with NGOs such as Forest and Bird and Greenpeace to volunteering on iwi-based initiatives.

I’ve observed the benefits in terms of worldview, acceptance of a different perspective and empathy for others’ situations that can come from this sort of work. All things being equal, these individuals demonstrate, in my opinion, a broader appreciation and acceptance of nuance and a greater ability to understand a more nuanced perspective on issues. Quite simply, these people tend to be able to process a more complex situation and hence are less susceptible to binary perspectives from either end of the political spectrum.

That being the case, I can’t help but come to the conclusion that some form of National Service, with the flexibility to cover a range of different service options, would be additive to society beyond simply the impact of the service itself. National Service firmly imprints upon the individual an awareness of their place in society, gives them a sense of what it feels like to generally contribute to the greater good, and shows them an aspect of society that they potentially would not otherwise see.

It may not be a sexy perspective in a world that is increasingly loathe to dictate to anyone, especially young people. But as unsexy as it might sound, I still reckon National Service might have some value. What do you think?