This year, data from the Harvard Public Opinion Project shows a trend that may be concerning to many Americans: a general disinterest in both community and military service.
For the 2,631 young people aged 18 to 29 surveyed, difference in participation in community service seems to stem mostly from age. Forty-three percent of those between the ages of 18 and 24 participated in community service within the past year, while only 26.8 percent of those between the ages of 25-29 have done the same. One possible conclusion is that people have less time to volunteer as they age because of increased responsibilities for their job and families. However, there is another possibility: that there are more incentives for people to participate in community service when they are younger.
Many colleges, for example, stress the importance of community service. According to HPOP data, 52.4 percent of college students and 46.4 percent of graduate students have participated in community service within the past year, while only 18.4 percent of individuals who did not attend college have participated in community service. Interestingly, there is also a greater percentage of college graduates who participated in community service within the past year (38.9 percent) than individuals who did not attend college. The incentivization of community service by colleges may therefore be a factor in the greater percentage of college students participating in community service, but is certainly not the sole reason why more college students participate in community service.
It is more likely, for example, that students who choose to attend college are people who are motivated to serve their communities, and would have participated in community service anyway. Many college students go to college to learn how they can create change in the world, which is why colleges tend to accept these types of students in the first place. It is still impossible to generate a solid conclusion, however, as there may also be other socioeconomic confounders that explain why more college students and college graduates participate in community service than people who do not attend college.
These low rates of interest in service to the community concur with a similarly low interest in joining the military. Across all categories (inclination to vote in 2018, age, gender, race/ethnicity, college status, and political party), more than 80 percent of individuals would either “definitely not” or “likely not” join the military.
The biggest categorical differences in inclination to join the military are between males and females, and Democrats and Republicans. A greater percentage of females (64.4 percent) than males (49.1 percent) will “definitely not” join the military. However, when one adds the percentage of males and females who will “likely not” join the military to each group for this comparison, males (82.7 percent) and females (88.1 percent) seem to have closer percentages. This gender difference in military aspirations thus may not be that significant.
Additionally, while 63.6 percent of Democrats and 46.6 percent of Republicans will “definitely not” join the military, only 2.1 percent of Democrats and 3.1 percent of Republicans are “nearly certain” that they will join the military. While there is a greater percentage of Democrats who will “definitely not” join the military, the percent of Republicans and Democrats who will certainly join the military are equally very low. This revelation shows perhaps unsurprisingly that the majority of both Democrats and Republicans would rather not join the military, when offered the choice.
This decrease in community service and intentions to join the military are alarming. Since the United States eliminated the draft in 1973, the U.S. military has relied solely on voluntary service to fill its ranks. Compounded with the fact that only 29 percent of individuals between the ages of 17 and 24 would be able to pass the minimum physical and mental health criteria for joining the military, this decrease in wanting to join the military is visibly causing the military to shrink in size—today, the military is the smallest it has been in 75 years. This has led the military to deploy unfit personnel to reach the minimum number of soldiers required for combat.
Going forward, it will be critical for communities to determine how to increase participation in community service, because as one Huffington Post article indicates, community service saves $184 billion annually. Likewise, greater interest in military service would reduce the prevalence of involuntarily extended service terms for those already deployed. Without greater millennial interest in the community and military, it will be hard for the United States to continue to defend and aid its citizens socially and economically.
Image Credit: Flickr/Military Health