Conscription
Posted by juicyjew1 on October 5, 2012
These are just my opinions please feel free to comment and argue.
For many years in Israel men and women would take a rite of passage into the military. Men would serve for three years and women for one and a half. In Israel this is the norm and many young adults look forward to their time in the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). I think that the United States should put in place a similar type of conscription.
I feel that many Americans ,especially young Americans, have become soft and lazy. What is even more frustrating is that the population seems to be okay with this. I have observed that many teens lack discipline in school and don’t have the will to work. If American youth does not make an effort to try to keep up with the more educated European population it could be disastrous for the country.
If America adopted Conscription the youth would seriously benefit. Military experience gives soldiers tools that civilian life can not offer. The one gains in the military is something employers and any level are searching for. Soldiers are trained to be leaders who can handle high stress situations. The amount of effort and discipline required to be a soldier rivals almost every job in civilian life. Team work and communication is instilled during service and never lost.
If a Conscription style military was used in the United States the qualities found in soldiers would be instilled in every young adult. This would create a generation of intelligent, strong, and disciplined individuals ready to get America back on her feet.
Blake Taylor said
I agree with this post. The military gives a certain skillset along with a disciplined lifestyle needed in american youth today. Not to mention the dramatic rise in patriotism and self pride that comes with it. While in the military you build friendships that last a lifetime, gain a sense of discipline and life order, and offers many career choices afterward. (all of which are needed in a slacking america today). I beilieve that conscription is the right idea but sadly there are too many political obstacles for this to be a realistic idea.
lrose727 said
True, the military forces young people to grow up and mature a lot faster than their peers, but this isn’t necessarily a good thing. Experience in the military can have disastrous affects on young people, especially during times of war because young people are forced to rationalize death and killing which, ultimately, will not positively affect our society. This change makes it that much more difficult to adapt back to civilian lifestyle and cause war veterans to feel lost and alone. Because of the negative effects of war, mandatory time spent in the military might actually create more resistance and hatred of the government within youth. A Conscription system may work in Israel, but definitely will not do the same for the US because we value our personal freedoms so highly.
cookieseller1000 said
I don’t support conscription. The United States has an all volunteer army, making conscription unnecessary. It’s not a good idea to force an individual to serve when he doesn’t want to. The Vietnam War illustrates this. Many ran away to Canada. Many burned their draft cards. Many claimed conscientious objector status.Draft evasion and resistance to the war reached levels which forced the United States to exit from the conflict. The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may be unpopular, but we do not see the war protests that occurred during the Vietnam War because we do not have conscription. Military training may be beneficial to an individual, but combat duty is extremely detrimental. 20% of soldiers suffer from Post Traumatic Stress and the numbers are rising. Eighteen veterans commit suicide every day. http://www.abc12.com/story/19102408/18-veterans-commit-suicide-each-day Data from the Pentagon show that this year, suicides, among active troops, occur an average of once a day http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2012-06-13/military-suicides/55585182/1 Americans are different from Israelis. We do not grow up in a culture that teaches us we are surrounded by our enemies.
If you want American youth to develop a more disiplined skill set, encourage people to join Americorps –the domestic Peace Corp which sends members out across the country to non-profit groups to do some good. http://philanthrophant.org/2011/06/21/the-domestic-peace-corps/