The Case for Mandatory Service🇬🇧🇳🇱

I’m thankful to not be a politician. But if I were, I would advocate for mandatory service for everyone who turns eighteen, men and women alike.

But you know me — I’m a balancist — so I would give everyone a choice: military service or healthcare.

The reason is simple: Our society has forgotten what it means to take care of others. Not every one of course, but too many people are raised with the idea that you can be anything you want. I was too.

It breeds individualism. And sure, most people turn out pretty all right anyway, but the problem is that those that don’t have a disproportionate effect on our civilisation. Of course I’m not going to say I’m one of the worst, but I am particularly looking at those that are building toxic social media platforms. So yeah, there would be no skip-mandatory-service-if-your-daddy-is-rich cards here.

Apart from teaching discipline and fighting individualism, mandatory service has other advantages too. Our societies are aging, so we have an endless shortage of people in healthcare. And given these are times of turmoil, we need stronger armies too.

Frank Herbert, in his novel God Emperor of Dune, also came up with a rather genius solution to the use of armies in times of peace. He stated that armies become a toxic presence in times of peace, because armies need to fight for practice so they have a natural tendency to lust for violence. And in times of peace, this lust for violence eventually turns into oppression of the civilisation the army was meant to protect. We merely need to look at the downfall of the United States to understand what I’m talking about.

But his solution was a genius one in its simplicity: The God Emperor had an army that consisted solely of women. Because women have a more natural tendency towards care for others, so their presence in the army ensures the army remains defensive and is less likely to become offensive and oppressive.

So maybe if we turn the screws on social media, service in healthcare and military positions would be a good fit for all the influencers losing their jobs too…

But that’s something I’ll leave for the politicians to figure out.

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Since I mentioned in my previous post that I think confessions are good for the soul, let me end this post with an actual confession. When I was eighteen, I visited Israel. I was staying in a hostel and as is the case with many venues there, there was also military personnel staying over.

I was lying on the grass of the inner courtyard at the end of a day of travel. The sun was getting low and I was taking in the last rays before it would disappear behind the buildings. I glanced backwards and saw a young woman standing there in military uniform. She was barefooted and she had positioned her M14 or M16 army rifle on a ledge of concrete. She was standing on the rifle, caressing it with her toes.

I don’t think I have seen a scene that could say “there is power in women” better than that moment. She was beautiful too.

Now I don’t glorify violence, nor do I have a fetish for war. But I do believe there is great wisdom in the saying that if you want peace, you must prepare for war. I can only hope that Europe will remember the lesson a little longer next time.