I think advocating mandatory national service is fundamentally wrong. You advancing the idea that the theft of a portion of someones life reasonable and good, in short you are advocating short-term slavery.
What does a person get out of national service? I think it'd be better instead to make high schools more difficult and let people start working and having a meaningful impact on the world earlier rather than later.
Other than that I agree with your post in general, I think the lack of a frame of reference/goal posts really sets people back. If everyone assumes that you wait till your 25 to start a business then they may wait till then; if they knew in the past that there were generals as young as 12 years old then twelve year olds may realize they can impact the world in a real way even at their young age.
I will not downvote you but I have a problem with the attitude that (seems to) stand behind this phrase. Remember the context. If you are an American, you grew up in one of the richest countries in the world, you probably had chances for education, access to technology, functioning roads and other public utilities, etc. etc. Of course, your life is your life but it's not like everything society might ask of you is "theft".
> "What does a person get out of national service?"
It's not everything about you, and perhaps you should ask yourself where would you be without the context of the rich country you grew up in (yes, I'm just guessing here, correct me if I'm wrong)? Is every tax "evil" too? Nobody likes paying taxes, me neither, but there is a difference between discussing where the balance of give and take is and just interpreting everything always in terms of "it's all mine". If you had to assign percentages of your success (if any), starting from zero, how much would you assign to your environment, your parents, your effort, your luck?
This isn't about society asking about anything. First off, it's not asking if it's compulsory - it's forced. Second, it's not society it's a few people who are in control -- people who the majority of society things are doing a poor job, as evidenced by congress's approval numbers. These programs are always aimed at the young who have no political voice -- we don't hear about programs to force the elderly or those entering their forties to put their lives on hold so that can give back to society for a year or two -- there'd be outrage, yet when someone is young most don't think at all about the rights of those they are "asking to volunteer."
What does national service to for the nation? It robs people of productive time that could be spent pursuing an education or career. Things that improve the world around them.
Furthermore you second thought is fundamentally flawed, you do not lay a claim on anyone by merely being nice to them. How would you like it if I swept you sidewalk, raked your leaves, etc because I enjoyed the way it made the neighborhood looked and then came to you 10 years later and demanded payment for all the help I gave to you. Your parents, your environment, etc are all the responsibility of individuals carrying out their own will - they do it because it's what they want to do; they may not enjoy it, but they still want it done.
No one owes anyone anything when they did not enter into a formal agreement, the likes of which cannot be entered into by a child. This does not mean that you shouldn't help your neighbor, volunteer your time, donate money, etc - because you want to. But to lay claim, to demand that someone pay debts they did not incur on the threat of violence is a dangerous and unjust claim.
PS if any of this sounds inflammatory, please disregard -- all is intended as a polite philosophical discussion.
What does a person get out of national service? I think it'd be better instead to make high schools more difficult and let people start working and having a meaningful impact on the world earlier rather than later.
Other than that I agree with your post in general, I think the lack of a frame of reference/goal posts really sets people back. If everyone assumes that you wait till your 25 to start a business then they may wait till then; if they knew in the past that there were generals as young as 12 years old then twelve year olds may realize they can impact the world in a real way even at their young age.