I’ve made it crystal clear to my son that if any government ever attempts to conscript him – no matter the purpose, no matter the circumstances, no matter the conditions, and no matter the promised duration – I will literally fight to the death, if necessary, to prevent his enslavement. He is not – just as no one else is – born to serve any government.
Unlike the author, I don’t have a son, so would not have to make that decision, but I would stand alongside anyone who did. The state has no right to our bodies, our lives or our liberty. State conscription is slavery and it is always under all circumstances wrong. If the state is in dire peril and needs the assistance of citizens to serve its cause, then it must make its case and seek volunteers. There may be times when our needs and those of the state intertwine and we do volunteer. So be it. But never, ever conscription, for that is the behaviour of totalitarianism. Our bodies, our lives, our liberty – not the state’s. Never the state’s, for the state is not your friend.
H/T Timmy.
XX If the state is in dire peril and needs the assistance of citizens to serve its cause, then it must make its case and seek volunteers. XX
“Dear Mr enemy,
would you be really seriously miffed, if you coulod delay invading us for six months or so?
We need to gather volunteer bank klerks and window cleaners, and train them to be soldiers, ships captains and fighter pilots.
We can let you know when we are ready, then please feel free to invade any time you like.”
Er, no. The answer is to have a well equipped highly trained volunteer military, not a bunch of unwilling conscripts. Given the above, an enemy would think twice about invading.
As for the time-scale – it would still take time to half train a conscript army – unless all you want is bodies to throw in-front of machine guns. Worked well in 1914, didn’t it?
XX The answer is to have a well equipped highly trained volunteer military, XX
You have one now. Doing bloody great against a bunch of camel shaggers.
Glad the bloody Russians gave up before they tried anything.
XX Worked well in 1914, didn’t it? XX
Worked great 1939-45.
No, it didn’t. Millions died in a pointless war that could and should have been avoided if it wasn’t for the bastard politicians in 1919. They do not own us and when they get that message, perhaps they will stop sending other people to do their dirty work for them. I certainly will never do it.
As for the camel shaggers – we bloody well shouldn’t be there – just as we shouldn’t have been in Iraq or anywhere else in the world. The military should be purely for the defence of our own borders and nothing else. And I’m not sure how the stalemate in Afghanistan favours your argument. If the Afghans tried to invade the UK, our army would do remarkably well. The odds are always in favour of the defender as they will have the terrain and local support on their side in what will inevitably become a guerilla war. Certainly sending a bunch of conscripts out to Afghanistan won’t achieve anything.
We already have a well trained volunteer army
In both world wars there was no shortage of extra volunteers for allied armies.
Conscription is unnecessary (Unless you live in a totalitarian state) and evil
Quite. Always wrong in all circumstances.