3 ms·

I’d argue that 12 years of schooling does get people to play as a team, it’s just that the team is smaller and more local. If I grow up in a smallish town in So

I’d argue that 12 years of schooling does get people to play as a team, it’s just that the team is smaller and more local. If I grow up in a smallish town in South Dakota I will go to school with and know people who mostly look like me. I won’t meet someone from a big coastal city and get to learn their worldview and how it was shaped. I won’t (probably) experience what it feels like to be in a minority role (as in race, political belief, etc). I will, however, grow up with people and maintain longer relationships with them. I will vote and act in the interest of my community’s shared beliefs. I also think there are other intangible benefits to conscripted service aside from exposing people to a wide diversity of their country. We were able to end the Vietnam war because we had a draft. We’ve been at war with terror for 19 years with no end in sight. Too few families are affected now and the nation doesn’t have the will to stop this forever war. I do generally agree that socializing in the context of killing people is probably not ideal. That said, a very small part of the military actually kills people. The vast majority of the military is either in a support role, or do not find themselves in a situation where they actually need to kill someone. So, I want to discount your first paragraph a bit. That said, I support the idea of a 2 year mandatory service which unlocks benefits like tuition (university, trade, etc). I don’t think that service needs to only be military - I would happily revive the Civilian Conservation Corps, use the Peace Corps, etc to fulfill that service.

mnm1 7y ago
I think if we had a draft we wouldn't be in all these wars but we also wouldn't have much of an army. Short of an actual attack against the US like pearl harbor I cannot see people actually showing up. When you have millions of draft dodgers out in the open, what can you do? It's impossible to even arrest them all. Wouldn't even be worth trying. I think our military leaders know this. That's why we have no draft and likely why we'll never have one again. Why for for a country that doesn't even care enough about you to provide you healthcare? Fuck that.
- papito 7y ago
  If you raise a generation that is taught public service, and most importantly, sacrifice, perhaps we'd have medical care. And the bar for sacrifice nowadays is seriously low. Six weeks of your time for your country, where you do not risk your life, is somehow a big ask. Look at these divas in the Senate right now, walking out of impeachment proceedings where they are the jurors. You see, it's too much of a sacrifice. They are not vibing with the whole thing, dude.
  - mnm1 7y ago
    I'd say that things that are worth sacrificing for dwindled and disappeared first, then the will to sacrifice went. Can't blame people for not wanting to sacrifice when all the good things worth sacrificing for are gone. Maybe if we start focusing on fixing problems at home rather than forcing kids that don't know better to prepare for a war they'll never fight, we might be able to create a society that has things that are worth fighting for. This all comes from the top down. It's the American oligarchs, after all, who have taken almost everything from most Americans, including health, education, and hope for the future. Can't blame regular people for not caring anymore in a society that doesn't care about them. No amount of forced socialization is going to fix that.

mnm1 7y ago

I think if we had a draft we wouldn't be in all these wars but we also wouldn't have much of an army. Short of an actual attack against the US like pearl harbor I cannot see people actually showing up. When you have millions of draft dodgers out in the open, what can you do? It's impossible to even arrest them all. Wouldn't even be worth trying. I think our military leaders know this. That's why we have no draft and likely why we'll never have one again. Why for for a country that doesn't even care enough about you to provide you healthcare? Fuck that.

papito 7y ago
If you raise a generation that is taught public service, and most importantly, sacrifice, perhaps we'd have medical care. And the bar for sacrifice nowadays is seriously low. Six weeks of your time for your country, where you do not risk your life, is somehow a big ask. Look at these divas in the Senate right now, walking out of impeachment proceedings where they are the jurors. You see, it's too much of a sacrifice. They are not vibing with the whole thing, dude.
- mnm1 7y ago
  I'd say that things that are worth sacrificing for dwindled and disappeared first, then the will to sacrifice went. Can't blame people for not wanting to sacrifice when all the good things worth sacrificing for are gone. Maybe if we start focusing on fixing problems at home rather than forcing kids that don't know better to prepare for a war they'll never fight, we might be able to create a society that has things that are worth fighting for. This all comes from the top down. It's the American oligarchs, after all, who have taken almost everything from most Americans, including health, education, and hope for the future. Can't blame regular people for not caring anymore in a society that doesn't care about them. No amount of forced socialization is going to fix that.