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In the novel "The Giver", author Lois Lowry creates a dystopian society where children at age eight are required to perform "volunteer services" throughout their community until age twelve. These services can be whatever they choose, but the hours must be documented for the child to move on socially to adulthood at age 12.

I was wondering if this sort of obligatory volunteering would be helpful to today's very socially/psychically/emotionally/spiritually/mentally sick society. Instead of sitting at a terminal all day and being brainwashed into thinking "golly I must be trans cuz I'm bored and unhappy" or "golly I have to shoot a bunch of people", kids could be volunteering at nursing homes or hospitals or museums or any place or anything that would help them grow fundamentally to be better people, hence a better society.

Slippery slope of socialism/marxism?

In the novel "The Giver", author Lois Lowry creates a dystopian society where children at age eight are required to perform "volunteer services" throughout their community until age twelve. These services can be whatever they choose, but the hours must be documented for the child to move on socially to adulthood at age 12. I was wondering if this sort of obligatory volunteering would be helpful to today's very socially/psychically/emotionally/spiritually/mentally sick society. Instead of sitting at a terminal all day and being brainwashed into thinking "golly I must be trans cuz I'm bored and unhappy" or "golly I have to shoot a bunch of people", kids could be volunteering at nursing homes or hospitals or museums or *any place or anything* that would help them grow fundamentally to be better people, hence a better society. Slippery slope of socialism/marxism?

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[–] • 1 pt

It can, if implemented properly. The problem is the establishment will substitute services of the child's choosing to services they deem permitted, which we all know will be shit that will facilitate their indoctrination.

Instead, much like with all problems, rather than look to a government to mandate something like this, implement it yourself in your household or in your community and encourage children to follow services that will actually benefit them and provide them with valuable real-world knowledge and experience.