I don't know why I torture myself with useless and difficult thought experiments, but I find myself debating which is worse between military conscription and chattel slavery. This brings to mind the schoolyard debate over whether it would be worse to burn or freeze to death. I think in order to openly debate myself on this question without bringing offense to too many readers I must remove the quandary from its historical context. To clarify, I am not considering the difference between being a slave in the antebellum American South or an Egyptian pyramid laborer on the one hand and fighting for the "good guys" in any of the various attempts to "make the world safe for democracy" on the other. I don't think such a question could be answered, and frankly, it doesn't interest me in the slightest.
So imagine the situation that a war started tomorrow and a draft was instituted the day after. Your number was called and your only opportunity to avoid compulsory military service was to submit to slave labor to a private farmer for a period of time equal to the alternative military term. What would your preference be?
When placed in this context, I think the decision is easy. I would much prefer private slavery to groveling before the state for the privilege of having my ass shot off. Clearly the risk of death is less in slavery, and the risk of killing is practically zero. Further, in slavery I could appeal to the good nature of a single person as opposed to the mob (a.k.a. the democratic majority), an entity with no heart and no brain. I have no delusions of being set free as that would sort of ruin the thought experiment, but it is nice to know that I could at least try for favorable treatment.
I was a conscript in the military of a particular country and still am (in reservice duty). My country enforces conscription for all males and we have to serve for several years in the military at the age of 18. After that, we have to go back to the army every year for a few weeks for reservice duty.
ReplyDeleteThis is my thoughts as someone who is conscripted and hated every moment of it.
1) Your personal freedoms are taken away from you when you enter the military. You can be jailed for many different offences that seem trivial or ridiculous in civilian life. e.g. insubordination, absenteeism, malingering, etc. Once had a friend jailed for arriving late.
2) You are trained to kill and might be forced kill against your will. Penalty is court martial and a very long term military jail sentence. Conscripts who are unwilling to serve for various purposes such as religious or moral reasons are all jailed. There is no other way to enforce proper conscription apart from heavy penalties. Most people don't want to die or kill.
3) You transform into a lesser human being the moment you are conscripted. People don't care if soldiers die even if they are forced against their will. It is always 'it is their duty' or 'we had it coming'. When civilians are killed, all moral outrage ensues. But what about a conscript who doesn't want to be there? Why is it okay to kill me? Why is it less immoral to kill a person who is forced into servitude? In wartime, I don't want to kill the enemy. All I want to do is stay alive.
4) High risk of injury and death. The military is a high-risk job even during peacetime. People die for so many reasons that the rate of death would seem alarming if compared to civilian occupations. We all hear about occupation hazards of jobs such as miners, but what about the military? Well here it goes. These are some of the incidents I have heard of. (i) Lightning strikes signaller during bad weather when outfield (ii) Tank flips over in uneven terrain crushing tank commander (iii) Collapse in jungle due to heat exhaustion (iv) Face chopped off by helicopter blade when the blade goes too low (v) Various vehicular accidents such as tanks crushing soldiers (vi) Firearm malfunction, blowing up soldier's face (vii) etc.
5) No recourse to proper justice. Due to military secrecy, you are tried by military court which isn't impartial the least bit. What does a group of military men know about law and justice?
6) Gender inequality. Only males are conscripted. Discriminates both women and men.
It might seem like I'm whinging but I do think I have the right to do so since I did not and will never sign up for becoming a soldier. If I volunteered, then so be it, it's my choice. But I didn't and I think that makes a whole world of a difference.
Liem,
DeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I think you provide an insight into military conscript life that I - fortunately - cannot. Thanks again for reading and participating.