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June 25, 2012
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What do you think of conscription, for military and/or non military purposes?

Forums > Community > Politics
:iconamaranthussanctus:
~AmaranthusSanctus Jun 25, 2012  Professional
This DA poll disheartened me and then made me think:
[link]

Conscription as told by Wiki: [link]

My Dad and I talk about this all the time, that many of our local social ills could be cured by mandatory conscription. Not necessarily to the military, but requiring young people to commit to working for the public in some manner for a couple years after high school. Many countries now do this and give students money for college in return.
The US has a program that is similar. A student loan forgiveness if a person works for a non-profit or public service or organization. (Though I don't believe many students know about this program and the stipulations a little ridged.)

Shouldn't this be a no brainer as a good local and world citizen? That helping the tribe helps the individual?
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:icongenstian:
=genstian Jul 9, 2012  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Take any nation relying heavily on conscripts. Professional soliders are way more effective, way more mobilized and way more motivated to perform a task. It's not like the far superior american army filled with pasifists and folks who just wanted to go home did such an effective job in Vietnam. They probably did an even worse job since you would have to drag these folks around with you. We saw the same thing with Soviets war in Afganistan. Hell, the send 2.5 million to berlin (and they where in a much better fighting condition), outnumbering the germans 4 to 1, and the losses on both sides where pretty equal.

If you want to help, volunteer and help! It's not like anything good ever came out of slavery.
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:iconagburanar:
~Agburanar Jul 9, 2012
The military certainly doesn't want conscription. Too much paperwork. Too many surly recruits. Too many dickhead officers fragged under mysterious circumstances. In hyper-nationalistic police states like Israel it can work, but elsewhere it is usually a losing proposition.

Nobody owes their country their lives - or years thereof. You owe the State some tax money to defray the costs of protecting you, building infrastructure to meet your needs and providing a variety of other services. That's it.

Exit question: Why would you honor the military service and/or death of a conscript, if it was never his choice to fight in the first place?
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:iconsheepy94:
~Sheepy94 Jun 28, 2012  Hobbyist General Artist
Only in the means of ACTUAL defense in times of desperate need, and not sending young highschool graduates off to die in some foreign country for god knows why. Even then I'm not so sure.
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:icondebit:
*Debit Jun 28, 2012  Hobbyist Traditional Artist
Conscription is a difficult thing to sell, unless there is something that needs every able-bodied man as much as possible, such as during wartime and similar sort of labor-intensive endeavors. If there are lot more potential conscripts available than the actual number of men needed, then there is a risk of unfairness in the public perception, as an extensive list of exceptions and deferrals come into play and becomes a political hot potato.

As for the military use, there is a trade-off: Conscription goes for the quantity as per-man payroll cost is puny, while volunteerism goes for the quality as they are going to hang around for a lot longer than conscripts which means more time for better training.
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:icontristancody:
=TristanCody Jun 28, 2012  Student Writer
I believe it would be better to have those who want to be a part of our military or serve their community than just people under conscription. Forced labor is just a horrid act.
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:iconcybereaglewarrior:
~CyberEagleWarrior Jun 27, 2012  Student Interface Designer
My thoughts on conscription? Ridiculous.
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:iconspider-loot:
~Spider-Loot Jun 27, 2012  Professional Digital Artist
Considering there hasn't been a war that was just in over 70 years, I don't think giving governments a free pass to send the young over to kill a bunch of brown people to make themselves feel useful/richer is that great of an idea.
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:iconurinaryoutput:
~UrinaryOutput Jun 27, 2012
I think everyone in US should be forced to do a humanitarian mission in a 3rd world country just so they would stop fucking complaining about the government not giving them enough money while they sit on their fucking asses.

But a military conscription? Stupid idea. There are enough volunteers. People need to feel special that they're in the military. Otherwise it just creates a world of suck.
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:iconunvalanced:
~Unvalanced Jun 26, 2012
I do not care to be a citizen of a country or a world which thinks that said citizenship makes any part of my life somebody else's property.

There is no social contract, for a contract entered into without consent is no contract at all.
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:iconmclandis:
~Mclandis Jun 28, 2012  Hobbyist Photographer
You consented to the social contract by opting to live here and enjoy the benefits of citizenship.
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