John M. Bridgeland and Alan Khazei: What America Needs Right Now Is Big Citizenship

As the United States approaches its 250th birthday in 2026, it faces a host of civic challenges in search of a solution:

Devastating fires in Los Angeles and floods in Florida and North Carolina, historically low levels of trust among Americans and in our institutions, spikes in hate-fueled violence, a decline in civic organizations, and learning loss and isolation from the pandemic are pulling us apart. Our military is not attracting enough recruits, with 77 percent of those who apply ineligible for service because of poor health, behavioral issues or low academic performance.

What could help address all these challenges? Large-scale national service — or what we call “big citizenship.”

It’s not a stretch to think this could actually happen. When one of us spoke with now-Vice President JD Vance some years ago, he remarked that “national service is the best idea in America that never happens.” On the presidential campaign trail in 2016, Donald Trump called national service “a beautiful thing” to expand. As Trump, Vance and Congress take office, they could rebuild our devastated communities, our social trust and our military recruiting through national service.

History shows that presidential leadership is essential. Look at the Civilian Conservation Corps of 3 million young men improving our public lands; the Peace Corps of 240,000 Americans serving in 144 countries; VISTA fighting poverty; Senior Corps for older Americans; Points of Light to expand volunteering; AmeriCorps that strengthens Habitat for Humanity, Teach for America, YouthBuild and other nonprofits; and Freedom Corps, which expanded these programs and created disaster-response service efforts after 9/11. These programs would never have come about without leadership from Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, respectively. Jimmy Carter, for his part, embodied a lifetime of service.

But national service opportunities are a small fraction of what they were after 9/11, even though many Americans want to serve and both Republicans and Democrats support investments in large-scale civilian national service.

Trump could create the most comprehensive national service program in U.S. history, linking civilian and military service for the first time and establishing a legacy that inspires young and old alike. He could create a White House Council for Military and National Service, with a dozen departments and agencies creating service corps to meet their missions at lower cost to the taxpayer. After 9/11, such a council led to the largest expansion of national service opportunities then and since. Trump’s national security adviser, former congressman Michael Waltz, who served as a Green Beret and sponsored bipartisan legislation advancing recommendations of the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service, could lead it.

The president and Congress could build on existing programs while establishing new ones, with a goal of 1 million Americans in civilian national service every year — representing 25 percent of young people who turn 18 each year and double the annual force of the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps. Such a bold move would create a culture in which serving community and country is both an expectation and an opportunity, and it would provide a bridge year to increase the number of qualified applicants for the military.

A living stipend and a post-service award, similar to a civilian GI Bill, for education or transition to work, could ensure that service is a pathway to prosperity. Conservative estimates show that at a public cost of $10 billion a year, matched by philanthropic contributions, there would be about a 4-to-1 return on investment — with a service year leading to more productive workers and taxpaying citizens, as well as reduced welfare costs.

This new approach would be “big citizenship,” not “big government” — what Ronald Reagan called that “spirit of voluntary service, of cooperation, of private and community initiative; a spirit that flows like a deep and mighty river through the history of our nation.” What better way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth than to reignite a revolution of service and ingenuity to help solve our public challenges, bring Americans of all backgrounds together — and heal a divided nation.

Excerpted with permission from the original opinion piece “What America needs is some big citizenship” by John M Bridgeland and Alan Khazei published in the Washington Post. To read the piece in its entirety, visit The Washington Post here.