Reply #21: You can dress it up however you like [View All]

[FeebMaster]

but forcing people into your national service plan is still slavery. Alternatives that would not be forced? Like do the service or don't get a high school diploma? Some alternative.


"First of all, I'm not defending any other idea out there, I'm suggesting my own. My own idea does not include forced military service. It includes a wide array of options for public service. You call it forced labor. Well, guess what when I went to college, some of the requirements for certain degrees included internships - so in order to graduate you were "forced" to labor. No one had a problem with that."

Except everywhere along the line in that situation there is choice. You can choose to go to college or not. You can choose to go to a school that doesn't require internships. You can choose a major that doesn't require an internship. You can probably choose where you're going to work. Not to mention, interns get paid.




I'm going to jump to your older post for your other points to save some time.

"we have many obligations to society - a certain level of mandatory education"

I don't see how this compares. Plenty of people drop out of school. Plenty never get high school diplomas. Is there even a penalty for not going to school? How is this even an obligation to society?

"paying taxes"

You don't pay taxes to society, you pay them to the government. Considering just how much tax money the government spends oppressing people at home and abroad, I don't have much of a moral objection to people that avoid paying them.

"obeying the laws"

Which ones? Drug laws? Gun Laws? Sodomy Laws? Prostitution Laws? If you break these, are you breaking your obligation to society? Are all of these necessary to a functioning society? Are all of these core things of value in the Democratic Party?


"Now, there are many possible ways to deal with non-compliance. First, it could be a system where the internship is a requirement for graduation, so you would still have the option to not graduate if you so choose. Or we could begin to teach our citizens to see civil service as a normal and honorable responsibility so that we would feel the same way about those who refuse to do it as we see other people who break the law."

I like this one. You force citizens into your national service program and teach them all about how they aren't being enslaved while they're getting their mandatory public education. Let's not forget to teach them that people who avoid their mandatory service are no better than any other law breakers out there, like murderers and rapists.

"Having said that, I personally feel the former option is the best one. And there are also alternative models, like the one suggested a few posts down, to encourage volunteerism by proving college tuition assistance based on service. That would also be viable."

So we'll just tack an extra year onto high school so kids can do their national service. Hell, why bother. It's not like kids are leaving high school knowing how to read these days anyway.


I don't even know why I'm arguing with you. You think mandatory national service is alright. I don't. I'm not going to convince you otherwise and you certainly aren't going to convince me.