Graduation Year
2022
Date of Submission
4-2022
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)
Second Department
Government
Reader 1
Professor George Thomas
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2022 Torben Deese
Abstract
The United States’ democracy has been losing empathy at an alarming rate. Both sides of the political aisle have lost respect and the ability to have constructive conversations about the future of our country. The polarization we have seen in this country has largely been a result of the limited ways in which we can develop empathy across cultures and regions in the United States. These limitations are related to trends in civic engagement and social bubbles that have grown in the United States over the last 30 years. A solution to this problem is a mandatory national service program. By creating an environment where people will need to immerse themselves in a new culture and engage in regular conversations with people from different regions and cultures, empathy can be developed. There are also many external benefits associated with national service that will make the project both viable and worthwhile. Through this program, polarization in the coming generations of voters will likely be alleviated. By breaking down social divisions, national service can revitalize American democracy.
Recommended Citation
Deese, Torben, "A Proposal for Mandatory National Service: Developing Cross-Cultural Empathy To Combat Social Division and Political Polarization" (2022). CMC Senior Theses. 2996.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2996
