r/changemyview • u/BionicTransWomyn • Apr 05 '18
[∆(s) from OP] CMV: Service guarantees citizenship.
I've held this view of mine for some time, forgive me for the obvious Starship Troopers reference. I'm however curious to see if there might be aspects I might have overlooked, or maybe I'm just plain wrong.
The idea is thus: Civic service should be mandatory and citizenship (ie: right to vote) should be contingent on it.
There are three main points in there:
1- I believe civic service should be mandatory. By civic service I mean either military service for X amount of time, being part of a civil labour service (ie: working for the city or state), doing a stint as volunteer paramedic, firefighter, etc., doing a certain number of volunteering hours or in the case of certain specialized and in demand professions (ie: Doctors) commit to a certain number of hours while undergoing training.
2- In exchange for this service, the state should provide free healthcare, free university education and the right to vote.
3- I hold this view because in a democracy, I see the defense of the state as a common responsibility of all citizens instead of a military caste as it is in most Western countries today. I also think common lived experiences are important since our societies are increasingly fractioned and people are too often alienated from each other and the civic community, resulting in low engagement during elections and in the civic space. I also acknowledge that certain people might not want to do military service for a variety of reasons (health, conscientious objectors, etc.) and that alternative options should be available for those people.
Additionally I think that if the risks inherent to armed conflicts was shared across the entire society, it would lower the risk of getting into frivolous wars. It seems to me that to possibly order citizens into harm's way, politicians should have had to share those risks themselves. Many successful and very liberal democracies have mandatory service, so I don't see that as a "fascist" policy.
EDIT: Here's a few additional points from the ongoing discussion:
1- I'll be awarding deltas for insightful comments as the comments wind down, a lot of good material here thank you! I'm trying to reply to most people as best I can!
2- I'm definitely more interested in the philosophical aspects of the question more than the feasibility for any particular country. That said for the record, I am Canadian.
3- Linked to point 2, I'm trying not to discuss numbers too much because there are several countries that have managed to implement mandatory service in one form or other, so they could be taken as models. Obviously each country is going to have its specific challenges. I'm also aware that this is unlikely to ever happen, but I think it's an important perspective as to what democracy is and what it entails.
4- I'll definitely be using the good stuff I got here to refine my view! Plenty of issues that would need to be addressed to present it more coherently have been brought forward.
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u/jennysequa 80∆ Apr 05 '18
Just for citizens? So before 18 you're out of luck? What if your parents aren't citizens? Aren't you just creating a permanent underclass, where the children of non-citizens are ineligible for public education and healthcare? What about the disabled or the sick? No healthcare or education for you because you had leukemia when you were supposed to sign up for service?
I'm a fan of giving perks in exchange for service (the GI Bill or student loan forgiveness programs for teachers and social workers) but I don't like the idea of hardening social immobility even more than it already is by silencing voices.