It's Just 730 Days, What's The Big Deal?

Pundit and professor Larry Sabato has a bunch (23 is a bunch, isn't it?) of ideas for improving our Constitution. He just wrote a book about it. One of them is a return to slavery:

The benefits of living in a great democracy are not a God-given right. In exchange for the privileges of American citizenship, every individual owes a debt of public service to his fellow citizens. The Constitution should mandate that all able bodied Americans devote two years of their lives to serving their nation.

Why this lousy idea, that costs a lot and makes life worse, is so popular among the chattering classes I don't know. Some have suggested a resentment of the young, or the rich, but it seems to me more a mindless pseudo-egalitarianism where some can pretend we're all in this together while they sit atop society ordering everyone around.

What would these volunteers be doing as we march them with guns at their heads to their temporary positions? As Sabato explains, "The civilian, military, and nonprofit options would have to accommodate the varied talents of the population, as well as our diverse dictates of conscience." Gee, that's what I thought freedom did.