Call for Mandatory National Service Program Petition : [ powered by iPetitions.com ]

#	Name	Your City and State	Comments
1	Rob Johnston	New York, NY	Let's make each generation the greatest generation.
2	Stacie Johnston	New York NY	I support this cause wholeheartedly!
3	Gene Derig	Anacortes, WA
4	Anonymous	claremont, CA	i think this is a great idea and i would love to see more people sign up for something with such a great benefit in the long run
5	Dana Clair
6	Stacey Flanagan	NY, NY
7	Anonymous	Washington, D.C.
8	Jeffrey L. Zotter	Port Monmouth, NJ
9	Lane Davis	Boston, MA
10	Patti Ann Kasper	Blaine, Minnesota	Many countries do this - Israel, Sweden, and others. Why not the US? There are plenty of things that we can accomplish together to make this a great nation once again. Let's get busy!
11	Jeremy Merrill	Durham, NC	John Edwards mentioned support for this proposal. I support Mr. Edwards and so should you!
12	Arista	New York, New York	I wholeheartedly endorse this petition. When I visited Austria a few years ago, I saw their country's similar mandate in action. Students upon graduation had the option of voluntary service in the military or social service for 2 years. Watching their enthusiasm in their volunteer social service was inspiring to see. As founder of a non-profit organization and having utilized the services of corporate and community volunteers the past 10 years, I have seen firsthand how the attitude and heart of people change when 'giving back' to society. As teachers of the next generations, I applaud this proposal. Just as we set the bar in education and the bottom line in industry, we need to raise the standards for public responsibility to all of our citizens. As Lee Iacoca said recently, ' All these young people who want to graduate and go to Wall Street and make lots of money-that's fine, but let them get out in the real world for a year or two and see what it's all about first. ' As our immigrant ancestors worked and toiled to build this country, we the generations who have reaped their legacy have a responsibility to give back through service. It will only make the diverse fabric of our country richer, stronger and more enduring and begin to transform our nation. Thank you for putting this important initiative into action.
13	Anonymous	Savannah, GA
14	Jeremy Schifeling	New York, NY
15	Will Creedle	New York, Ny	yes, I would love to serve my country, if it were required and my employer couldn't fire me for it, like jury duty.
16	Anonymous	Bend, OR	I applaud the movement and strongly believe it is time to call our youth to service. They gain experience in life & learning and the receipients gain the benefits of their service. It's a win-win situation.
17	Joan Johnston-Stern	Wyncote, PA	Wonderful idea whose times had definitely come.
18	Peter Stern
19	B. Michael Dann	Williamsburg, VA
20	Donna Hahn	Belleair Bch., Fl
21	Fred E. Domann	Platteville, WI	The USAF changed my life; I was essentially a high school dropout that became a University professor.
22	robert haimsohn	san diego, ca	great idea. what other countries have a similar policy?
23	Nikola-Max Loder	Los Angeles, CA	National Service does not have to mean military service. Every American, regardless of their attitude towards the military, would serve.
24	John Davis	Cumberland, Maryland	Yes we have a candidate running for office that supports this type of Service his name is Frank Nethken the former mayor of Cumberland, Maryland and he is running for the US Congress as a Republican against Roscoe Bartlett in the Maryland US 6th Congressional District for the 2008 election.
25	Lisa Alpert	New York, NY	I agree!
26	Charles Sweeney	Rockville Centre NY
27	Blake Wind	East Patchogue, New York
28	A Carter		Registration for national service should be mandatory, but participation should be voluntary in order to avoid military conscription. Like Selective Service now, a National Service should allow for conditional deferments or exemptions for registrants who are already involved in (defined). service in the US or abroad as many Americans are.
29	Anonymous	Hillsborough, NC	I hope that any system of obligatory national service will enjoy the same pay and benefits as entry level military service. A fringe benefit of universal service would be the creation of a new health care system -- based on the Veterans Administration model -- that would enable all Americans to earn permanent health care through service to their country.
30	Anonymous	Pullman, WA	This type of program is exactly what I planned to propose for my English 101 research paper! Only this is a lot more organized than anything I have thought of yet.
31	John Davis
32	Travis Smith	Allen,Texas	I believe that this will strengthen the United States of America and will give every citizen that qualifies a much broader view of the world and the many cultures that influence the U.S.A
33	Jamilah Razzaq	Columbus, Ohio
34	Elana Marton	Albany, New York	I think this is a terrific idea and would be very interested in doing more to see it happen.
35	Charles McClain
36	Lawrence P. Meisel, Jr.	Columbus GA	Imagine what it would do to the character of our country if everyone from 18 to 40 years old lived on subsistance wages for two years doing something to help someone other than them selves.
37	matthew ciochetto	phoenix, az
38	Anonymous	Ellerbe, NC	As a member of the all volunteer Army, Army National Guard and now the Air National Guard, I support the call for National Service. With the challenges facing America today in more areas than just the military we need everyone to share in making things better for us all.
39	Lauren White	Aurora, IL
40	Anonymous	Lincoln, Nebraska	I for one am a 17 Year Old Male, who supports the idea of re-instating National Service. I'm voluntarily Enlisting into our Armed Forces April of 08, however I feel that other Americans [especially my age] should do their part to help their country as well.. be it voluntarily, or not. "Ask not what your Country can do for you, but what you can do for your Country."
41	Christine Milot	New Milford, CT	Contribution to our society at any age is beneficial for the giver and the receiver. It develops communities, grows confidence and makes us better people and better citizens.
42	Anonymous	Battle Ground , WA.	Great idea
43	Clayton O. Ruud	Spokane, WA	I taught engineering at Penn State University and observed that many of my very bright students did not have the maturity to be usefull in the work place because of a lack of the maturity, discipline and social skills that living for a year or two in an in-service environment would provide.
44	Menelaos Panagiotou	Orland Park, Illinois	National Service or draft should be mandatory. Serving your country should be an honor and everyone should be involved. Young people are apathetic and only know how to complain. The attitude of "give me" without giving something to your country is wrong. Free choice is good as long as is not selfish. I have asked young people why they don't they vote in elections and most of the answers I got back was "who cares".
45	Charles G Smith	Sacramento, Ca.	Yes. The important and primary defense of our nation cannot be placed as a second class or non-priority element in having our youth undertand what it takes to keep this country safe from many who who would like to trample and enslave us all. We cannot risk that limp wristed attitude for long before we are overcomed .
46	Anonymous	Beaverton, OR	I strongly believe in this, but I don't think it should be forced on people. However, they should not be allowed certain rights until they have completed it. For example, they can't vote until they sign up for their service. until they complete it, they can receive no federal student aid, no government guaranteed home loans, can't participate in a 401k/IRA, can't contribute to any political candidates...etc.
47	Paul Schwerling	Sunbury, OH	Common national service has worked great in Germany and would help us here in the U. S.
48	Joel Haugen	Scappoose, Oregon	I see compulsory national service as the best way to invest the citizenry in the country and help solve a number of critical problems that we currently face.
49	Andrea Espitia	Auburn, WA
50	Susan Schindler	Auburn, CA