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I felt that way when I was called in for evaluation as a teenager. I was a peace loving left-wing Swedish boy. That was maybe 8 years ago or so, I remember cons
by yjgyhj 10y ago
I felt that way when I was called in for evaluation as a teenager. I was a peace loving left-wing Swedish boy. That was maybe 8 years ago or so, I remember conscription being scrapped a year or two later.
I regret not making an effort to do it. I chose to underperform in my test because I believed all is better than war. But as an adult I've changed, and realised I wouldn't quite mind dying for things like my language to be dominant in my home and spoken by my leaders, as well as dying to not lose honor. Things I would at the time had considered naive. I now consider by old stance naive, as it implied my own life as the most important thing in the world.
The only conclusion I can draw from this is that I'll likely be of another stance at 40, just like I'm thinking along the same ideals as at 18. If anyone older than me remember thinking these things at 25 I'd be love to hear.
- Kenji 10y ago>I felt that way when I was called in for evaluation as a teenager. I am no pacifist. I definitely subscribe to the non-aggression principle, but a defensive war is always justified. I'd die for certain things I believe in, too. I just wanna decide that for myself and serve when I want. How dare the state make this decision for me.
- trentmb 10y ago> but a defensive war is always justified Really? If a foreign power intervened in, say, ethnic cleansing, defense would be justified?
- Kenji 10y agoEthnic cleansing by itself violates the non-aggression principle, but nice try.
- zzzcpan 10y agoIt's all propaganda. Every war is based on this non-aggression principle and is a defensive war, offensive wars are long gone. If those in power want to fight a war on another country's soil, they simply invent a group of people they "need" to protect there, demonize the enemy and go to war there. Like Russia was "defending" russians in Georgia.
- Kenji 10y agoThat's why I go by my own definition of defensive war, and not the government's ;) And it's one more reason not to comply with conscription and sabotaging this authoritarian practice.
- zzzcpan 10y agoYou should also recognize, that as long as other states use this authoritarian practice, every state would have to use a similar practice to protect the order it imposes on people from other states. So, yeah, opposing a state is always a good idea. States are not your friends.
- EliRivers 10y agoas well as dying to not lose honor. While recognising the differences in our attitudes towards life, this evoked from me a very big WTF. Not just because your life is all you have while honor is basically someone's opinion, but also because it's not even as much as one whole step away from being prepared to kill people for your own honor.
- fjdlwlv 10y agoParent poster said they want to die (and presumably kill, for what else would risk dying?) to prevent them from _speaking a different language_ near posters's home, so I don't think killing for honor will give them pause.
- EliRivers 10y agoYes, that was a bit of a trip to read. "I wouldn't quite mind dying for things like my language to be dominant in my home and spoken by my leaders" I wonder if the parent poster's language is currently the dominant language or a minority language. There are people who already kill and die for their culture to become dominant.