In 1999, a young man named Ryan John Sargeant removed himself from the public school system. His letter of intent, filled with harsh, condemnatory rhetoric, decried a school system that uses students as, ? a means to an end, a worthless commodity. Pupils are made nothing but workers by the educational system.? Such words would aptly describe a proposal by the United States government, which calls for three years of mandatory public service following high school before pursuing any higher education. A sweeping educational reform of this type sacrifices the Constitutional, personal, and moral rights of the individual students in favor of the public good, creating a new class of disenfranchised and rebellious youths.A mandatory post-high school public service program violates the Constitution of the United States. In Amendment Thirteen, Section One, the Constitution states that ?Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude [emphasis added] ? shall exist within the United States?? A proposal to involuntarily enlist students from the ages of 18-23 in forms of public service (or servitude) blatantly attacks the premise of this basic constitutional right of everyone, including students in the school system. Additionally, the Declaration of Independence, that touchstone of ?unalienable rights,? provides its citizens with ?Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.? Through a public works mandate , the government itself would be depriving each student of their ?unalienable right? to have liberty from oppressive mandatory requirements, barring them from pursuing happiness in whatever manner they choose. Furthermore, the Declaration of Independence defines a government as a system ?instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.? Again, a mandatory work program for students attacks the fundamental values of a government for the people, by the people, in favor of a government that legislates bas...
