A New National Service?

I am at home over the weekend and my father, who was in one of the last intakes of National Service, has just expressed his support for what he thought was David Cameron’s idea of re-introducing it, as reported by the BBC.
Now I am not really sure that the idea of a service that is voluntary and one that is about community service rather than preparing men for war is really something that should be classified as National Service, even if it is a national service. Perhaps the most telling difference, though, is that this service is expected to last for six weeks rather than for two years or more. Is this really enough time to allow those taking part to bond and to learn the lessons of discipline, team work and camradre that my father so hopes it will? I suspect not.

However, it does illustrate, once again, the way that many people such as my father see the problems of society. He is not someone that has been the victim of a major crime, nor is he generally fearful. But he does believe that there is a general slackening of law and order based on a relaxation of fairly basic values.

I am not sure that the proposals outlined for this scheme so far, really will achieve what they have set out to do. However, the TRG values of social justice do lead me to praise the attempt to find a big solution to a big problem. This is a problem, after all, for everyone in society and not just those targeted by the scheme. With such high stakes, we should be prepared to be bold with these ideas, going further if necessary, and welcome the options of new choices for young people that have been failed for far too long.