Do you believe in something enough to send others to die for it?

[Pekka]

You don't send troops to die. You send the troops to make the baddies die.

[David Floyd]

Not if they volunteered to go.

By "volunteer" I don't mean volunteer for the army in general, but volunteer for the specific military action that lies outside of defending the nation itself, which is implied in joining the army. Obviously, a foreign war requires outside, voluntary funding, as well, and the war has to be in defense of another.

Yes, with so many stipulations, my support for a war is hypothetical rather than realistic.

[Panag]

Originally posted by David Floyd


Possibly, but since I know that conscription is slavery, and immoral, I refuse to engage in it.

BUT, this is a largely irrelevant tangent. If you want to talk to me about conscription anymore, start your own thread.

hi ,

and are you or have you been faced with conscription yet , .......

and yes , you could start a thread about it

have a nice day

[Sava]

Not if they volunteered to go.

By "volunteer" I don't mean volunteer for the army in general, but volunteer for the specific military action that lies outside of defending the nation itself, which is implied in joining the army. Obviously, a foreign war requires outside, voluntary funding, as well, and the war has to be in defense of another.

Yes, with so many stipulations, my support for a war is hypothetical rather than realistic.

But you are against the US involvement in WW2. Almost all of the soldiers volunteered to defend their country, AFAIK. In fact, I've heard many stories of kids lying about their ages in order to enlist. Why the double standard?

[GePap]

You send troops to do a job that needs to be done, even if you know that a lot of them will be killed while performing that job.

And there are plenty of individuals who are far less "special", and far more replaceable. Young males without particular techincal or academic training are a dime a dozen.

[David Floyd]

panag,

and are you or have you been faced with conscription yet , .......

I haven't been faced with genocide, either, but I can still say genocide is wrong.

Sava,

But you are against the US involvement in WW2.

Certainly.

Almost all of the soldiers volunteered to defend their country, AFAIK.

A majority of Marines and naval personnel were volunteers. A majority of army personnel were conscripts.

In fact, I've heard many stories of kids lying about their ages in order to enlist.

So?

Why the double standard?

There's no double standard. Conscription existed, and the war was not funded voluntarily.

[Panag]

Originally posted by David Floyd
panag,

I haven't been faced with genocide, either, but I can still say genocide is wrong.

Sava,
Certainly.
A majority of Marines and naval personnel were volunteers. A majority of army personnel were conscripts.
So?
There's no double standard. Conscription existed, and the war was not funded voluntarily.

hi ,

what does genocide have to do with conscription , .....

have a nice day

[David Floyd]

You asked if I'd faced conscription, implying (in my mind) that I wasn't qualified to have an opinion if I wasn't subject to it.

[SlowwHand]

Against WWII. I've heard it all now, David.
We pushed for that one to happen, didn't we?
Sad.

[Panag]

Originally posted by David Floyd
You asked if I'd faced conscription, implying (in my mind) that I wasn't qualified to have an opinion if I wasn't subject to it.

hi ,

oh boy , ......

and no that was not what was "implied" at all , ......

so , where is that thread about conscription , .....

have a nice one

[SlowwHand]

He's made a dozen of them in the past, what's 1 more?

[David Floyd]

Against WWII. I've heard it all now, David.
We pushed for that one to happen, didn't we?

We certainly did.

-Scrap metal and oil embargo against Japan
-Escorting British convoys through war zones carrying war material
-Giving war material to the British to be used against the Germans
-Firing on U-boats on sight
-Radioing position of U-boats to the British

Make no mistake, the embargo against Japan didn't justify Pearl Harbor (although I'd say that Germany had a legit reason to go to war due to attacks on U-boats), but we certainly weren't trying to avoid war.

panag,

The thread is up.

[Sava]

, and the war was not funded voluntarily.

tell that to the millions who worked their asses off to kill the Nazis...

[Whaleboy]

Let me clarify my position.

If people are contracted to do risk their lives for a certain cause, then I would not order them (assuming I had the power) to die, or face elevated risk of death, for that cause.

For example, I would ask a fireman to go into a burning building or not, but for me, its his perogative whether he does or not. Obviously, in most cases he will.

Also differentiate there between something that will save a life, a directly productive outcome, and something that will take other lives (i.e. die to make others die) which is directly destructive. Obviously, the outcome of that destruction may indeed be positive, but thats another matter thats irrelevant.

About idealist pacifism, its an interesting thought that if everybody was entirely logical, there would be no armies and there would be no war.

[Jaguar]

If I believe that the damage to humanity from my action is less than the damage that would be caused by my inaction, then I will act.