Politicians have long been hustling to establish their prerogative to commandeer young Americans' lives. At a "Volunteerism Summit" in Philadelphia in 1997, President Bill Clinton announced that America needed more "citizen-servants" and that "the will to serve has never been stronger." Clinton praised Maryland and the District of Columbia for making "service" mandatory for any student seeking a high school diploma. In a Playboy article headlined, "The Return of the Hitler Youth?" I ridiculed Clinton for "crusading for a national kiddie draft — forcing all teenagers to labor in politically approved community service" for hundreds of hours before being granted a diploma.

But the "kiddie draft" was only the opening bid. There were plenty of progressives and conservatives itching to compel all young to sacrifice a year or more in "national service" — a perpetual fantasy inside the Beltway ever since military conscription was suspended in 1973. Unfortunately, the easiest way to prove your moral superiority in Washington is to champion destroying everyone else's freedom.