Pick Your Poison. Conscription or Mandatory Military Service.

[Lars-E]

Sorry, not gonna vote here since it's the same thing.

Conscription is a good thing. Join the army! For one year.

Swallow your hurt pride Texan and make a new poll!

[SlowwHand]

Lars, you must be tripping on the same stuff Solver is on.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Osweld
There is no real difference,

That's what I've been saying all along.

[SlowwHand]

There is a difference. I don't know what's so difficult to comprehend. It's me, I know it is. Let me try again.

Conscription IS a draft.
They decide how many warm bodies they want, take everybody's birthday, put it in a hopper, and like the lottery, BOOM. Here's our winner's.
And these "winner's" go where they're sent, period.
It only happens during a declared war.

Mandatory Service.
For a pre-defined period of time, all people serve the country. Let's say between high school and college, which seems to be the norm, and makes the most sense.

You can't see the difference?

[DinoDoc]

Sloww: I don't care what half-assed explaination you come up with to split hairs. They are is no meaningful difference between the two.

[SlowwHand]

That's ridiculous. It isn't my explanantion, it's you being pig-headed.
The 2 are absolutely nothing alike, Doc.

[Lars-E]

We have conscription in my country and we're not at war.

[Anodyne]

We have mandatory military service in Finland. 6-12 months, depending on what they'll make out of you...

If you have ethic or religious convictions that prevent you from performing military service (like I do), you can perform civil service (13 months) instead.

OR if you have strong ethic or religious beliefs that prevent you from performing the civil service, you can go to jail (6½ months) as a prisoner of conscience. You won't get a criminal record. Every year a handful people chooses to do this. For most the reason is either
a) The unfair length of civil service when compared to military service, or
b) The fact that civil service men would still be required to serve in the army in case of war, or
c) A general protest against the "system"

As for the poll... I'll pick the "neither"-option.

[SlowwHand]

Finland must have a comprehension problem, too.
Neither ? Not an option.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

I agree with you Slow, mandatory service not draft.

Historically the draft has been shown to be unscrupulously unfair and b/c of that it has a huge stigma. Civil war conscriptions allowed fat cats to buy their way out all the way up to the exemptions made for Vietnam draftee's later curtailed.

What I really wanted to post though is once again I find rational thought from Rah and of all place Che in that the mandatory service would provide untold social benefits.

I would go so far as to emulate the ancient civs that allowed full citizenship to those who had put in their service while a limited citizenship for those yet pending. Since we are talking a 18-21 yr old it luckily coincides with some of the rights to vote, drink, etc.

[Anodyne]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Finland must have a comprehension problem, too.

[SlowwHand]

So we have at least Ogie, RAH, Che, and a couple others who at least get it. (I might have included Ming, but he's still on my list for today )


? Still struggling, Anodyne ?

[David Floyd]

I'm afraid I don't see conscription and mandatory military service as anything more than involuntary servitude/slavery, so in that sense, they are indentical.

But David, you post toastie, "neither" is not a choice.

Neither is always a choice, because one always has the choice to do the right thing.

In the entire history of the United States, not one war has taken place without conscription.

Relevance? That just means the US is generally immoral.

I would hazard the guess that nearly every country could say the same.

See above.

Your answer is limited to one or the other, an "abomination" to you or not.

No it isn't.

[Nubclear]

I despise mandatory service. Immoral, barbaric and brutal. It steals your freedom, you're basically put in jail. You don't have the right to choose where you live, or whatever.

Bad things happen during it. You can get beat up/raped by other serving people, if they grow to dislike you.

I wouldn't shoot anyone. Even if the independence of my country depended on it. I have luckily not been in such a situation, but I don't believe I could shoot.

Echo.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by St Leo
I will be surprised, no, make that shocked, if a veteran comes into this thread and picks conscription.

Veterans are -- by definition -- idiots. If they were intelligent, they'd be civilians and/or deserters.

Wow, what a truly idiotic statement. Civilians are cowards who can't fight for their beliefs, whatever they are.

P!ss off coward.