Some people believe that military service should be a compulsory duty of all citizens. In supporting the requirement of 18-35 year olds to serve two years in the national military, it is important to have an overview of the benefits of each person aiding the defense of individual and national justice, rights, and liberties. If defending a person’s homeland is an individual responsibility, then it makes sense for all people to engage in various aspects of national defense. For a person to be outside of the military would mean that this individual is not interested in being a part of a nation, not perceiving oneself as a part of a unified whole which deserves adequate support. By assuming the idea that every person has the choice about whether or not one wishes to engage in national defense, one assumes that a person has a choice about opting out of nationality. If America acts as a nation, unites its people in one government and speaks with one voice, it makes sense for all people to cooperate and work together in the defense of the nation. Only if people abandon their nationality should they be able to abandon the duty to defend the nation.
With an increasing population and a shrinking army, it does not make sense to continue the train of thought along the lines of optional military service (Robinson, 2006). Freedom in America is not free. It costs the lives and energies of many young men and women in defense of the entire nation. For there to be thousands of people serving the United States military at any given time should be something with which every citizen is familiar. However, unfortunately, there are many people who have never served and who have never known anyone close to them who has served the United States defense. It costs money to run and effective military, but it also costs real time, energy, and devotion, real human lives. It is a shame that so few people truly know what it means to give up one’s life for one’s country, to love a group of people so much that you would go to any lengths to defend them. In implementing compulsory military service, it would be the responsibility and the privilege for all people to dedicate a couple of years of their lives to knowing what it really means to be a part of a nation, to join together with neighbors in defense of America. In this day and age, there are all too few people who really know what it means to unify in a common goal and commit to a common purpose. By encouraging all young adults to devote themselves to two years of military duty, America would be enforcing the responsibility of all people to their government. Although America demands freedom for all people, it is a responsibility of the freely elected government officials to demand that the people of this great country each carry one’s own weight in regard to national defense.
Many people in America today are very concerned with themselves, so much so that individual rights and aspirations often outweigh the rights and aspirations of the state. Like in any organization or company, if citizens begin disrespecting the authority and management of the nation, there will be an organizational disintegration. In order to keep a balanced cohesion between government and citizens, it is essential for the citizens to view the nation as their own group of people, a group worth defending. Only when individuals truly realize that they belong to something bigger than themselves will they be able to see the value in compulsory military service. Our young men and women need to embrace the fact that they live within a group of free and highly inspirational and loving people and take the measures necessary to help defend the nation in the face of adversity.
References
Robinson, J. (2006). Freedom Isn’t Free: A Study of Compulsory Military Service in the United States Army. Storming Media.
