Pick Your Poison. Conscription or Mandatory Military Service.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

If I may:


Mandatory Service is a lottery: You WILL serve, but you don't know whether there'll be a war on when you're doing it.

Conscription is also a lottery: You may not serve, but if you do, there's guaranteed to be a war on.

In other words, both involve chance - one with certain participation, but uncertain exposure to risk (war), and the other one with certain exposure to risk, but uncertain participation.

Truly, it's a pick your poison situation. Fortunately, I'm too old for either option

[korn469]

Mandatory Military Service and conscription are both fairly bad ideas, simply because motivation is one of the most important mental attributes of a good soldier, and forced service destroys this...the american military is the best in the world, and i think being an all volunteer force is one of the reasons why (all of th defense spending is another); conscripts would be a burden on the US military and it's combat effectiveness would go down

however, i would support Mandatory Civilian Service for all men and women with the arguments Rah offered being the reasons why we should have it...since it is Civilian service that also means that all of the physical requirements for military service wouldn't apply, so all but the most seriously handicap people could then serve...of course if you did join the military then you should be exempt from civilian service

[David Floyd]

I also oppose Mandatory Civilian Service. That's slavery, same as Mandatory Military Service.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by Tuberski


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

Two wrongs dont make a right.....and two idiotic-blanketing statements dont make an intelligent, reasonable statement either.

ACK!

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by David Floyd
I also oppose Mandatory Civilian Service. That's slavery, same as Mandatory Military Service.

You're free to leave if you don't like it. I hear Air Somalia has non-stop flights.

Actually, I semi-agree (not with the slavery tag) that the Federal government has no authority to impose civilian national service, but state governments certainly do within most of their constitutions.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Solver
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.

You don't need to shoot. I'll shoot, but you'll have to be Johnny on the spot with the ammunition. Wait, where have I heard this before?

[SlowwHand]

MtG, we've been down this gravelly ass road so many times.
Some just want; and have a rude awakening in store for them.

[Dry]

More argument for Military service:
It is one more safeguard for democracy. It's harder to attempt a military coup with civilians among your troops.
It's harder to use the army against strikers (Are you sure they will shoot on their co-worker?).
It's harder to manipulate the government with neutral observers inside the army's administration.

[Silpy]

In modern war, if you conscripted people inot the army to fight, the war would be over before they got there!

[David Floyd]

Actually, I semi-agree (not with the slavery tag) that the Federal government has no authority to impose civilian national service, but state governments certainly do within most of their constitutions.

States can't violate the rights of the citizens within any more than the feds can.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

[Hands over ears]

La, La, La

Don't want to hear this same arguement

[\Hands over ears]

[korn469]

States can't violate the rights of the citizens within any more than the feds can

that's bs David and you know it...states can already force children to goto school for at least 13 years, so if states wanted to add a 13th grade that all you did was volunteer work, i'm sure it would be within their legal powers

if the federal government wanted to implement almost Mandatory Civilian Service here is how they could do it, until someone had completed a somewhere between 50-60 weeks of Civilian service, they would not be eligible for any federal student aid (including student loans), they couldn't get any federal job, they couldn't get any federal aid program like medicade, and the federal government would hold any federal tax refunds

since this will probably never happen in the US anyways, you have nothing to worry about David

[SlowwHand]

Nobody can tell anyone to do anything, according to some.
I'm sorry, but it's just so laughable.
Can you see in some countries, (Someone) saying, "Yeah, well screw you and your choices".
Bullets are cheap.

[Sava]

I won't fight a foreign war unless someone nukes Chicago and kills my family.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Tassadar5000


Two wrongs dont make a right.....and two idiotic-blanketing statements dont make an intelligent, reasonable statement either.

ACK!

Never said they did, But having been in the military and having been a civilian. I know that, but then again I was in the military, thus, I am allowed to be an idiot, since I am anyway.

ACK!