The reaction to National Service on here

I don’t get all this talk about needing to be part of a ‘community.’ Why should we or my DD care what anyone else in the neighbourhood is doing or why is it her responsibility to help them? We’ve never asked or needed anything from anyone in our local area so we do we need to help others?
DD needs to be mobile so she can go where the opportunities are, not embedded in some fanciful ‘community’ that takes but doesn’t give her anything in return. She certainly won’t be doing NS.

If 24 days (that’s how long it would be in total) of delivering prescriptions or volunteering as a hospital guide

So they would need to drive? To deliver prescriptions?

You think that an 18 year old can rock up and do either job? With no training, no orientation, no CRB check, and since you would hope those things where in place - the organisation has to fund all that for a commitment of 25 days?

It totally undermines the work volunteers do, the value organisations place on them and the work involved in supporting them.

My daughters worked from 16 and have plenty of experience on their CV's, they are still working to pay for university while studying - what would they get out of 25 days showing people round a hospital?

If 24 days (that’s how long it would be in total) of delivering prescriptions or volunteering as a hospital guide

So they would need to drive? To deliver prescriptions?

You think that an 18 year old can rock up and do either job? With no training, no orientation, no CRB check, and since you would hope those things where in place - the organisation has to fund all that for a commitment of 25 days?

It totally undermines the work volunteers do, the value organisations place on them and the work involved in supporting them.

My daughters worked from 16 and have plenty of experience on their CV's, they are still working to pay for university while studying - what would they get out of 25 days showing people round a hospital?

Many European countries (including Scandinavian countries) have NS. Are they ‘ridiculous’? Or are their much-coveted-by-Mumsnet-users communities better because of their sense of individual responsibility and contribution?

If 24 days (that’s how long it would be in total) of delivering prescriptions or volunteering as a hospital guide has you talking about human rights violations and Nazi Germany, then it’s very clear that you’re so pampered a bit of NS would do you good.

Everyone on here expects the world in terms of a ’village’, generous benefits, a caring society, but wants to do fuck all to contribute to it and think the notion of them having to do ANYTHING for anyone else is insane.

It’s nuts!

Many European countries (including Scandinavian countries) have NS. Are they ‘ridiculous’? Or are their much-coveted-by-Mumsnet-users communities better because of their sense of individual responsibility and contribution?

If 24 days (that’s how long it would be in total) of delivering prescriptions or volunteering as a hospital guide has you talking about human rights violations and Nazi Germany, then it’s very clear that you’re so pampered a bit of NS would do you good.

Everyone on here expects the world in terms of a ’village’, generous benefits, a caring society, but wants to do fuck all to contribute to it and think the notion of them having to do ANYTHING for anyone else is insane.

It’s nuts!

Of course this is the selfish attitude that is prevalent now a days. You can't even look beyond your own self to see how society has helped your DD 🙄

I don’t get all this talk about needing to be part of a ‘community.’ Why should we or my DD care what anyone else in the neighbourhood is doing or why is it her responsibility to help them? We’ve never asked or needed anything from anyone in our local area so we do we need to help others?
DD needs to be mobile so she can go where the opportunities are, not embedded in some fanciful ‘community’ that takes but doesn’t give her anything in return. She certainly won’t be doing NS.

Maybe we need a government that will think about need instead of their donors and who will actually provide some MH provision. There is none.

You're not comparing like with like. Free uni, decent public services, excellent maternity packages, decent housing etc etc. are the Tories offering that in exchange? No? Thought not.

It's like tax, I've no objection to paying tax, paying more tax, if I think it's going to be spent properly. This government just takes and gives nothing back. It needs to work both ways

It is quite often done in scouts and guides, etc anyway - but even so, the biggest lesson to teach about fire extinguishers is to be used to save life only - in other words, 99% of the time, just leave them and evacuate

My comparison to Luxembourg is that young people are taught how to use extinguishers and put out minor fires

Perfectly sensible, but you don't need national service to learn useful skills. It could be done during school holidays. On a voluntary basis.

Also the thing with the fire department, wouldn’t it be great if our population had a more generalised idea of what to do in disaster situations. Like flooding or if someone is trapped under rubble etc.

I don’t get it, week after week high rate tax payers are slated for being selfish because they complain they don’t have any spare money left. People tell them to stop whinging and get on with it. Mention able bodied teenagers volunteering for a few weeks and people are horrified.

Either you live in a society where people have an attitude that we should all contribute, whether thats through money or time etc or you think only some people should contribute but not you or yours. It’s not about the government it’s about what kind of society you want to live in.