Sociology

Community service should be required by every citizen of a country. When people regardless of social status are given the opportunity to serve communities in dire help, they are exposed to some of the harsh realities of life. In doing so, they may be able to learn personal lessons which they can use to improve their own lives regardless of whether they actually want to offer a lending hand to others. It is accepted that there are both advantages and disadvantages in requiring every citizen to perform community service. However, it should not deter the government from instituting ways to shape the values of the people and broaden their social awareness.

It cannot be denied that rendering community service is beneficial. What is perhaps the contentious issue here is whether or not requiring the same is also beneficial and necessary so as to enforce it. An earlier study indicates that community service can improve school and community interaction (Kielsmeier, 11). Apparently, the study focuses on the role of the learning institutions in helping communities. Interestingly, the study shows how the value of helping can be reared at a young age, which is also the time when young people are still filled with idealism.

In a separate article, it was shown that rendering community service can actually boost a persons morale and enhance the confidence of the team of participants (Manning, 552). The study clearly shows the personal effect of engaging in community services. It reaffirms the idea that servants also stand to benefit from helping communities even if the benefits derived are not in material form. Similarly, it can be added that the experience of being exposed to communities in bad shape is an eye-opener. Lessons on the part of the participants can and will be learned.

Finally, it has been shown in another study that required community service among public universities can be done (Brungardt and Arnold). While the scale of the project in the study is relatively small, it nevertheless confirms the possibility of implementing required community service on a national scale. Indeed, there is little reason to doubt that the idea can be put to the test.

Given the benefits of rendering community service to the participants and to those at the receiving end, requiring the same is not only prudent but also beneficial to the society as a whole. It invariably heightens the social awareness of those who have yet to witness the full plight of the less fortunate and prompts them to do something about it if not for others at least for themselves. It is also practical since it mobilizes the people on their feet, so to speak, in order to do greater good for a greater number regardless of whether they actually feel what they do. The appreciation of the system on the part of those who will be required is not entirely a huge concern since the same appreciation can still be learned in the process. As the adage puts it, everything in life is a learning experience. Not even those with cold hearts can escape it.

Community service is a very precious instrument to be left to the hands of the government alone. Civil society should take an active role in rendering help to others in need even if they are not required to do so. In requiring people to actually participate in community service, the first step is made towards a conscious understanding of the disparities in social status. All the rest will simply follow.