Want to be Happy?…. Change the World

I just read a review of Ghetto Nation, a new book about how the worst of the hip-hop culture is sweeping through teenage America.  It seems that many suburban, middle class teens are embracing the language of gangsta-rap, the obsession of flashy materialism, a disdain of education, and trashy disrespect of women. Underneath the vulgarity is a rapidly growing quest for meaning found in recent social research among American’s youth.  In study after study, today’s high school and college students reveal themselves as America’s most idealistic generation in fifty years.  If you visit our latest home page you’ll see recent video interviews of random students talking about their dreams and concerns.  What you’ll see and hear is astonishing.  They already know how to pursue happiness.  Perhaps it’s time to help them and at the same time help all of us.

Perhaps it’s time to institute a mandatory national service requirement for at least 12 months during everyone’s 18th year.  The range of service could be broad from preschool teaching, to the military, National Park restoration to city beautification, inner city tutoring, or reading to the aged.  The year would be also one of personal growth and coming to self-knowledge.  Every 18-year-old could take talent, interest, and trait assessments, do life-planning, receive training in leadership, time management, goal achievement, relationships, conflict resolution, decision making, financial literacy, and budgeting, as well as the responsibilities of citizenship in our 21st century democracy.  This is a life-changing, society-renewing vision.  We don’t need to create a huge new bureaucracy to do this.  We can link together a vast network of existing for-profit and non-profit institutions to provide training and service opportunities offering real accountability and tangible results. Collecting current delinquent taxes could pay for it.  There are 2.75 million Americans turning 18 every year. There really is no excuse.  Can you imagine what an impact universal service would have on our society in a decade?  What would happen if every young American had a genuine experience and the deep satisfaction of meaningful service?  All we have to do is decide.  It might just increase all of our happiness.

What do you think?  Is it time to put this squarely on the national agenda?  To view the video click here.

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