麻豆视频

Mandatory Military Service: Service or Servitude?

By Lynne Bell

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听听听听听听听听听听听 In my family, we have a joke. Years ago, my eldest daughter attended a preschool that happened to be located on a military base in Calgary and also happened to be a certain colonel's pet project. It was a lovely place for little kids and had a decidedly un-military vibe, but we still tease her about attending military school at the tender age of three.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Clearly, this little anecdote illustrates the fact that I haven't given much-well, any-thought to the possibility of mandatory military service for my kids or anyone else's. So when Kelly walked into my office with a story about the necessity of Pittsburgh Penguin player Olli Maatta fulfilling his complusory military service requirement in his native Finland, I was surprised and more than a little perplexed.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Finland is a peaceful country, but unlike equally peaceful Canada, military service is not an option. All Finnish males are required to serve six months or more in the country's military and this service must be completed between the ages of 18 to 29. And hockey stars are no exception.

听听听听听听听听听听听 As I write this, 21-year-old Maatta still hasn't announced a date for when his service will begin, but he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: 鈥淚 know I have to do it. Everybody has to do it. It's the law for our country. But they do a really good job working it out, because normally, it would be impossible for me to do it and play hockey at the same time.鈥�

听听听听听听听听听听听 Maatta also said that fulfilling his duty to his country is often seen as a rite of passage and added that members of the Finnish national hockey team were able to complete their service requirements in a way that complemented-rather than competed-with their on-ice careers.

听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淭hey're really good at working it out to make sure I get my summer training at the same time as doing the military service,鈥� he said.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Other countries presently requiring compulsory military service include Israel (both men and women, but with an exemption clause that includes 鈥渓ow motivation鈥�) and North and 麻豆视频 Korea (no surprises there...).

听听听听听听听听听听听 But is compulsory military service a good idea?

听听听听听听听听听听听 On the plus side, mandatory military service has the potential to promote national unity, maintain an active and effective military force that can respond quickly and effectively to any threats, and possibly help to create a citizenry that is more interested and involved in government decision-making-especially when lives are on the line. And of course, there's the age-old argument for military discipline as being 鈥渢he making鈥� of someone.

听听听听听听听听听听听 On the negative side, compulsory service of any kind is viewed by some as a clear violation of a听 citizen's free will-especially within a democracy. And even if the term of service is only a relatively short period of time, it still has the potential to interfere with a young person's plans for further education, or if Finland wasn't so flexible- in the case of Maatta-his hockey career.

听听听听听听听听听听听 But beyond those concerns, military training has the very real potential to cause injury-or worse, fatal injury-to even the best young recruits. And the psychological and physical stress during combat can adversely affect the most motivated of soldiers-let alone those who are ill-suited-and conscripted into service.

听听听听听听听听听听听 There are no easy answers, but the most compelling argument in favour of mandatory military service is that of equality. In many countries, many who serve do it in part to gain an education or a job that they might not be able to obtain otherwise. Typically, children of privilege don't join the military to pay for their college education.

听听听听听听听听听听听 The idea of mandatory military service means that at the very least, a nation is paying lip service to the idea that all citizens-the privileged, the poor, and those between those two extremes-are equal citizens and must all play their part in keeping their country safe and secure.

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Compulsory military service promotes nationalism

By Kelly Running

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听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 In Canada it鈥檚 not something we have to think about, we choose whether we serve or not, but in countries around the world mandatory military service is the norm.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Recently there was a story on CBC, which brought attention to this. Olli Maatta who is from Finland plays in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Finland, however, is a country which follows a mandatory military service, which means the young man will be headed back to join the Finnish military as of April 18 although if the Penguins make playoffs the date will be postponed.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Maatta is expected to have his service broken up and instead of serving six consecutive months will serve a few months each summer until he鈥檚 completed his time.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Conscription and mandatory military service are both ways for countries to maintain and build their armies. Typically conscription occurs during times of unrest and war, while mandatory military service is something that countries utilize in times of peace 鈥� I鈥檓 kind of splitting hairs here with the words as they鈥檙e really the same thing, you鈥檙e required to join the military.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Historically mandatory military service has been documented since 221 B.C.E. within the Qin Empire of China, which allowed the nation to expand and conquer a large area.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 In the Western world it really took hold during the French Revolutionary Wars. There had been conscription prior to the French Revolution. However, the 鈥淟ev茅e en masse,鈥� as it has become known as, was put in place following The French Revolution of 1789 and was used in a different way than before. The leaders of the Revolutionary army became concerned with how they would maintain their army in the coming years, they decided on the 鈥淟ev茅e en masse,鈥� which actually developed into an integral part of the creation of their new national identity.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Conscription comes and goes as government decides what is necessary during times of war, but it is not commonplace amongst nations at peace. A quick Google search pointed out that there are actually many countries who utilize compulsory military service: Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, and many, many more.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Other countries, like Myanmar and North Korea, also maintain compulsory military service. These are the countries I feel like you鈥檇 expect to have such an initiative, so why do countries like Finland maintain their compulsory service?

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Just as it promoted a national identity during the French Revolutionary Wars, it remains a way to promote unity amongst citizens and maintains their national identity through a shared experience. Regardless of who you are whether you鈥檙e rich or poor, an NHL player or a farmer it promotes the fact that every citizen is equal. The nation bonds over the fact that they have all served and have been through military training.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Arguably the best time to train military personnel is in times of peace. By having compulsory service every citizen is trained and in a world of uncertainty it leaves a population of trained military personnel, who at a time of conflict would be more capable of defending their country than those countries having to train people who have never had any training before. It allows them to be prepared for anything and to mobilize an entire nation quickly in defense of itself.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Military service also allows citizens to develop technical skills that they can use as citizens following their service as well as developing a culture of teamwork, responsibility, respect, stress management, and developing a healthy lifestyle in the sense that being active in younger years carries through as people age.

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