Mr Buckshot
January 14th, 2009, 02:10 AM
So who else here is totally opposed to it? I am, and in my honest opinion anti-conscription measures should be implemented into international law and added to the UN Charter of rights.
It's been quite concerning how many high school graduates leave high school with promising futures, only to have their futures delayed for 2 years or so and potentially dampening their strengths during military service that they don't even want to do. I know that they aren't being sent into battle, but they're placed in rigorous training that isn't for the faint of heart and they're trained to handle guns and shit when they'll probably never touch them again in their lifetimes. And in the event of a war, they will be called back into service from whatever jobs they may currently hold, unless they are past a certain age.
In other words, conscription makes you exert yourself against your will, and it fucks around with your academic studies too as you're basically brain-dead for 2 years or more.
Every country needs a capable military to protect its people, but that military should comprise strictly volunteers and no one else.
As a third generation citizen of the former U.K. colony of Singapore (I now reside in Canada), I would originally have to go back after high school and be trained for two years before being allowed to go to university. If I defied the conscription and chose to stay in Canada, I wouldn't be in trouble but I would never be able to return to Singapore without being arrested. Fortunately, I was very lucky as I managed to acquire a mainland Chinese passport during a two-year-period I spent in Shanghai, and because of this I can skip the conscription bullshit and still travel back to Singapore as I please. When I was very young I felt no allegiance to China, after all my grandfather moved to Singapore permanently because he hated his life in China. But after getting my passport (HOW is another story) I've always felt grateful to China as it has helped me escape what I believe is a major violation of human rights.
Others, like my cousin's friend, weren't so lucky. He was studying in the U.S. as an international student, but because he wasn't a U.S. citizen yet and had no U.S. passport, he was forced to go to the two-year Singaporean conscription after graduation in June 2007. Recently, this friend died during the daily 2.4km run, most likely caused by the extreme tropical heat (http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/211845,singapore-air-force-cadet-dies-after-jungle-training-in-brunei.html). His family was compensated by the government for his death, but money is not going to bring back their boy who was supposed to go to UC Berkeley and be successful. There have been numerous deaths previously, many attributed to the very hot climate on the Equator.
Other countries that practice conscription are Israel, Taiwan (yet it has strong diplomatic ties to America), Switzerland, and some other Asian country whose name I keep forgetting.
I'm sure there are some users here who support conscription saying that it can help you "be a man" (due all the very tough training) and also help to cut down on youth obesity. But what's the point of being manly if you end up dead, cheated out of a promising future by some stupid government law?
As far as I know, though, the UN is preoccupied with stopping the pre-teen conscription in Africa, so unfortunately it isn't likely that they'll start focusing on developed countries like Taiwan in terms of abolishing conscription.
It's been quite concerning how many high school graduates leave high school with promising futures, only to have their futures delayed for 2 years or so and potentially dampening their strengths during military service that they don't even want to do. I know that they aren't being sent into battle, but they're placed in rigorous training that isn't for the faint of heart and they're trained to handle guns and shit when they'll probably never touch them again in their lifetimes. And in the event of a war, they will be called back into service from whatever jobs they may currently hold, unless they are past a certain age.
In other words, conscription makes you exert yourself against your will, and it fucks around with your academic studies too as you're basically brain-dead for 2 years or more.
Every country needs a capable military to protect its people, but that military should comprise strictly volunteers and no one else.
As a third generation citizen of the former U.K. colony of Singapore (I now reside in Canada), I would originally have to go back after high school and be trained for two years before being allowed to go to university. If I defied the conscription and chose to stay in Canada, I wouldn't be in trouble but I would never be able to return to Singapore without being arrested. Fortunately, I was very lucky as I managed to acquire a mainland Chinese passport during a two-year-period I spent in Shanghai, and because of this I can skip the conscription bullshit and still travel back to Singapore as I please. When I was very young I felt no allegiance to China, after all my grandfather moved to Singapore permanently because he hated his life in China. But after getting my passport (HOW is another story) I've always felt grateful to China as it has helped me escape what I believe is a major violation of human rights.
Others, like my cousin's friend, weren't so lucky. He was studying in the U.S. as an international student, but because he wasn't a U.S. citizen yet and had no U.S. passport, he was forced to go to the two-year Singaporean conscription after graduation in June 2007. Recently, this friend died during the daily 2.4km run, most likely caused by the extreme tropical heat (http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/211845,singapore-air-force-cadet-dies-after-jungle-training-in-brunei.html). His family was compensated by the government for his death, but money is not going to bring back their boy who was supposed to go to UC Berkeley and be successful. There have been numerous deaths previously, many attributed to the very hot climate on the Equator.
Other countries that practice conscription are Israel, Taiwan (yet it has strong diplomatic ties to America), Switzerland, and some other Asian country whose name I keep forgetting.
I'm sure there are some users here who support conscription saying that it can help you "be a man" (due all the very tough training) and also help to cut down on youth obesity. But what's the point of being manly if you end up dead, cheated out of a promising future by some stupid government law?
As far as I know, though, the UN is preoccupied with stopping the pre-teen conscription in Africa, so unfortunately it isn't likely that they'll start focusing on developed countries like Taiwan in terms of abolishing conscription.