A lot of the world’s conflicts could be ended quite quickly
if it wasn’t for all the willing recruits who for one reason or another are
prepared to join up and fight.
Why are they willing to sign up? Why are they ready to be cannon-fodder, ready to risk their lives for some dubious objective?
All sorts of reasons are given for joining up. It’s their patriotic duty, it’s an important cause, it’ll make a man of them, they’ll be looked after, and so on.
I’m very thankful I was born too late to be conscripted. I would almost certainly have been a conscientious objector.
Even if they aren’t killed, they could end up seriously disabled and unable to enjoy life as they used to do. What can be worth that outcome?
Over half a million Russians have died in the cause of territorial expansion. Just think of all the grieving families they leave behind.
Furthermore a lot of veterans are virtually ignored after “serving their country”. They can no longer get the support they need but are left to rebuild their lives as best they can. They feel neglected and discarded. It's shameful.
My husband enlisted because he was about to be drafted and once drafted you don't get to pick what you will do. He said he'd rather fly over Viet Nam than walk through it so he enlisted in helicopter pilot school. He's one of the lucky ones who came home after only being wounded once and that one was not life changing.
ReplyDeleteLinda
My late husband was in the Army. I was in JROTC in high school and almost enlisted.
ReplyDeleteMary: Well, what can I say? He must have had good reasons for joining up. I don't think the UK has anything equivalent to the JROTC.
DeleteHe did have a good reason. lol He got in trouble with the law and the judge told him he could enlist or go to jail. He picked the Army. lol
DeleteMary: Wow, that's quite an ultimatum. Not sure what I would do if I had to make the same decision.
DeleteFirst I read to my sister across the table some comments about trouser for girls. Then as I read parts of this one aloud she said angrily, "What, is he F---ing talking about Canada?"
ReplyDelete...I said that down in the States Veterans Affairs has had some scandals.
Sean: I certainly wasn't referring to Canada, just armed conflicts in general.
DeleteI can only comment in reference to WW2 - my dad told me that those who enlisted thought that it would be exciting and that they would get to see the world. I think times were hard in the 1930's - a global recession, etc. Propaganda played a huge part of encouraging the young to sign up for it. Going back further in time I think men were given the option of being shot, or going to war and being shot there. Obviously it's all wrong. The general public are an audience, unwilling participants in a global pantomime where we are all expendable.
ReplyDeleteSx
Ms Scarlet: Exciting and you'll see the world, what a total misrepresentation of war! And yes, the global recession might have pushed a lot of people to join up. As you say, the public are just an unwilling audience for global carnage and destruction. A global pantomime indeed, especially Trump's crazy activities.
DeleteI've known all sorts of people who have enlisted and the reasons are various. My brother did it after getting a bachelor's degree because he couldn't find a job in his field. He received extra training in the Navy and then was able to get a job with the armed forces. He just retired and gets a nice pension as well as great benefits. My former boss ran away from home when he was 16 and lied to get into the Navy. He loved it because he got to go around the world twice and he even re-enlisted after his first term was over. Afterwards, they fully paid for his college. Many young men join because they aren't interested in college or they want to serve their country as a form of patriotism. This really increased after 9/11.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: I guess the forces are a good option in people's everyday lives - useful training, good pension, travel opportunities etc - but not so good if you're caught up in a war and might be killed or seriously injured.
DeleteWhen we had the draft system there wasn’t a choice. Afterward it’s a variety of reasons. Unemployment/underemployment has always been a large part of it. Personally I see these people being used as canon fodder.
ReplyDeleteSandra: As I said to Bijoux, I guess joining the forces can be an attractive option in people's everyday lives, especially as you mention if good jobs are scarce, but if you find yourself in the middle of a war, not such a good deal.
DeleteFor my comment above, my sister already knew you were in Belfast, she was being angrily sarcastic because her buttons had been pushed because she knows people in the service.
ReplyDeleteAs for WWII, in her memoir, a Canadian woman in the forces, here in North America, asked a US lady in the US forces why she enlisted. The American replied, "To serve my country." The Canadian laughed and asked, "Yes but really, why?" and then she had to backtrack. Because the young lady started crying because her stated reason was the truth.
The opening line of the original British Boy Scout manual was, "Every boy wants to serve his country."
I think we in society have a contract with our young people,:They think, "We will do what you say, but you have to know what you are doing."
In the States after 9/11 there was a surge of enlistments. (Incidentally, my latest essay is about the rebooted TV show Battlestar Galactica had a darkness only possible in those post 9/11 years)
Sean: Well, of course you can serve your country in any number of ways - teaching, public transport, healthcare etc. And they don't carry the risk of death or serious injury. I think you're right about young people expecting people to know what they're doing.
DeleteSean: Mind you, don't we all expect people to know what they're doing, including us oldies?
DeleteGovernments target people who are struggling, promise them an education or an adventure or a heroes cape and the targeted people are young, idealistic, gullible maybe. Voila! we have recruits.
ReplyDeleteI have a Russian friend whose son was born in Australia but even here, they celebrate Russina "Mens Day" which is a cultural propaganda teaching boys to go to war. It starts at birth.
Kylie: Yes, unfortunately young people who know no better are persuaded to join up (and see the world). Men's Day sounds abhorrent.
DeleteIt's all so horrible, war.
ReplyDeleteColette: And surprise surprise it's always men who start wars. Women are not so belligerent or so cruel.
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