Pete Buttigieg suggests a national service program

The Democratic presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg, pleaded Monday night for a form of national public service for all young adults to create unity among Americans.

"We really want to talk about the threat to social cohesion that characterizes this presidency but also that time," said South Bend Mayor, in Indiana, to Rachel Maddow. "One thing we could do that would change that would be to make it, if not legally binding, but certainly a social norm that anyone after 18 years spends a year in the national service."

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Buttigieg mentioned that for him and several former presidents, including John F. Kennedy and George HW Bush, serving in the military had allowed them to meet and build trust with people from backgrounds, education and training. of extremely different incomes. Buttigieg served in the Navy from 2009 to 2017, including a deployment in Afghanistan. Buttigieg and representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) are the only candidates for the current Democratic presidential election.

Buttigieg was vague about what would constitute a national service, but he and Maddow acknowledged that he probably would not act a military project. Without saying that the program would be mandatory, Buttigieg suggested that colleges and employers ask applicants to participate.

The mayor of Indiana said that a national service program could be a tool to reduce divisions in American society and increase public participation. Buttigieg mentioned that similar proposals had been made in the past and were generally very popular. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the creation of such a program could be a long project.

"It's one of those ideas that everyone likes, but it's still important and never urgent," Buttigieg said of a national service program. "How could this be left alone in a political debate where we are dealing with children in cages and where we have to deal with climate change and where there are all these pressing and burning issues?

The friendly conversation between Maddow and Buttigieg also touched on the mayor's experience at the age of 33 and on the remarks he's already made about building trust between his South Bend constituents .