If there was a war and conscription was mandatory would you go?

[visitingagain]

Do people think the government has the right to conscript people? Should people who won't comply get punished?

No. I would be useless anyway.

@AwaAnBileYerHeid

Doubt they'd want me but yes, I'd do my bit for my country.

I guess a better question is, would you send your children?

Thankfully I'm too old to do anything directly with guns but think we would all have to do something in that situation

No, but I’m a pacifist. I would volunteer for something where I didn’t have to kill anyone

I expect conscription would include women as well as men if they had it now. But it couldn’t be the entire adult population as some people would have to keep the country going (like the women did in the past). So they’d have to be some sort of system

It would be a nightmare to organise now as everyone would be quick to claim it wasn’t fair

If my children were grown up in this hypothetical scenario I would think it was fair for me to have to do something equally dangerous though, just with no killing

Send my children... well they are only 8&10 but one wants to join the Navy. The other would do better in something like Nursing. Their dad is in the Army so we have no ideological objections (and probably a better idea than many about what the Armed services is actually about...)

As has been said, I wouldn't have any choice! Not if it was mandatory!

I imagine the armed forces wouldn't be best pleased to have to resort to it.

It would have to be a desperate last measure, and a weird one in the age of remote missiles and economic and virtual warfare etc.

At that stage, who knows? Maybe it would just be a desperate last thing that we'd all have to deal with somehow.

I'd also be shit in a war, unless it's to make the scones.

Fuck. That.

Well, if I were to be conscripted, I'd have to go, wouldn't I? Surely a better question would be - would you enlist?

@visitingagain

Thankfully I'm too old to do anything directly with guns but think we would all have to do something in that situation

I wouldn't. Not if I thought it was a pointless war. No way I'm going to 'do my bit' for a conflict I disagree with. Over 200,000 American soldiers and over 1m Vietnamese people died in the Vietnam war. And for what? Big fat failure of a war.

They wouldn't want me. I'm fat, old and falling to bits.

Even during world war 2 you were excused if you were a conscientious objector. You could choose to do civilian service instead. I would imagine the same would be true today.

Also I think it depends what we're fighting for. I think most people would, if it came to it, physically defend themselves against an enemy that came en masse to take over the country and your choice was fight them off or be taken under the rule of that country and you had bombs being dropped on people's houses!

Although that type of war, I really doubt we'll see that again anyway.

But if that did happen and if the armed forces were not large enough in number to fight back then maybe people would want to join in in self protection, or maybe they'd say ok well, it's not worth fighting over so ok, X country now rules us and we'll just do what they tell us to. Who knows?

Oil and other resource grabs disguised as wars can fuck right off though.

@LittleDandelionClock

As has been said, I wouldn't have any choice! Not if it was mandatory!

You could be a conscientious objector.

@WhatHoMarjorie

I can just see Johnson playing the role of Haig, encouraging all the plebby canon fodder to go over the top. Or whatever the modern day equivalent of going over the top would be.

I can see him sticking pencils up his nose and saying "wibble".

Didn't the conscientious objectors get jailed @WhatHoMarjorie ???

Apart from that, I agree with much of what you say.

Yes I'd fight for my country.
I wouldn't be any good at it, maybe as a human shield.

Well, I'm 40, medically disabled, fat and very unfit. Can't imagine I'd be useful in the front line....

However, in terms of National Service, I'm a believer that it should be an OPTION for everyone (not a requirement). A short term stint in the military / as a hospital porter / in a public service (public sector) field could be positive for lots of people, especially if they aren't particularly qualified or interested in anything in particular. A 2yr contract could be great for lots of people.

👷Hard hat on!

If I had been around during Ww1/2 I would have become a nurse

@EmeraldShamrock

Yes I'd fight for my country. I wouldn't be any good at it, maybe as a human shield.

Made me LOL more that it should have tbh!

@RedCarsGoFaster

Well, I'm 40, medically disabled, fat and very unfit. Can't imagine I'd be useful in the front line....

However, in terms of National Service, I'm a believer that it should be an OPTION for everyone (not a requirement). A short term stint in the military / as a hospital porter / in a public service (public sector) field could be positive for lots of people, especially if they aren't particularly qualified or interested in anything in particular. A 2yr contract could be great for lots of people.

👷Hard hat on!

That sounds like a wonderful idea! ^

One of us would have to look after DS so I’d send DH 😂.

It would never happen though, the government can’t even make millions of people get jobs! I do think the country would be a better place if we had mandatory national service though.

If things had got to the stage where conscription was extended to fat 49 year old women... I'd probably join up out of sheer desperation.

Have I missed something? Who are Austria gping to war with?

If I got called up/conscripted then I take it I'm the right age and fully fit again?. If the alternative was jail or going on the run then I guess I would.

National Service is another question..should we consider that ? Loads of civilised countries do. I think it might be an interesting idea?

What bit of mandatory dont you get?