Overall are 18 to 40 year olds fulfilling their duties as American citizens?

same over here (uk). a lot of younger people are concerned about things and do participate with trying to help out but are so sick of politicians they never bother voting. i'm in this age group myself and completely understand this - however we should be using our right to vote and perhaps try and give the smaller parties a bit more power.

That all depends on what you think are people's duties to their country. Yes, voting and military service are great examples of fulfilling our duties to our country, but they don't define it (although, I say if you're not voting, you have no place to whine). To me, our duty to our country is to do our part to make it the greatest country in the world. Yes, military service does this, but our military isn't what made us the greatest country in the world, so it's not the only thing that can maintain it. What made the US so great are the hard working people that make an honest living for themselves and their families. It's the people who are willing to take their excess assets and invest it so that others can bring their dreams to reality, and give the rest of us some cool goods and services to buy. It is the volunteers who work day after day for nothing but the pure enjoyment of it. It is the people who take vacations and travel to other cities and sites around the country. It's the people who live their lives the way they see fit, and recognize that right for each other.