# Mandatory Service Can Renew Young People's Faith in America.

1 Opinion August 24, 2026By Scott Galloway and Tom Suozzi

Chicago Tribune ![Scott Galloway headshot ](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/Scott%20Galloway%20Article%20images%20230x260.jpg?itok=rSGSTSeO)A transfer of wealth from young to old, an education system that ill-equips young people for today’s economy and technology platforms engineered to polarize us have produced a generation of Americans who no longer believe in America. According to Gallup, 75% of baby boomers feel very or extremely proud to be an American, compared with just 41% of Gen Z. We are raising the most isolated, anxious and disconnected generation in our history.

The solution is each other.

Just as the World Cup showed millions of visitors how wonderful America can be, a mandatory year of national service would show our own young people the same thing — while equipping them with the civics, skills and on-ramps to the middle class that a fractured education system and a polarized political culture have failed to provide.

Read the full [*Chicago Tribune* article](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/24/opinion-national-service-renew-faith-america-patriotism/).
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*Scott Galloway is Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern.*

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