Some Maybe Not So Great Debate Cases

Compulsory National Service - Neg

Intro: "Because to take away a man's freedom of choice, even his freedom to make the wrong choice, is to manipulate him as though he were a puppet and not a person." Since I agree with Madeleine L'engle, that I must disagree with the Resolution that states: In the United States, national service ought to be compulsory.

To promote a fair debate I offer the following definitions
Compulsory: Macmillan Dictionary defines compulsory as "Something that must be done because of a rule or law."

In addition, Macmillan Dictionary says that national service is "a period of compulsory service in the armed forces during peacetime"

Value: The value that I will be supporting on the negative side is Societal Welfare. At the base of the United States is the citizens and their rights. If the government makes national service compulsory, the people lose their identity. If we want to do the best thing for the society, we will not make national service mandatory.

Criterion: To uphold this value, I will be using the criterion Utilitarianism which is the philosophical perspective that we must do what promotes the most good for the most people.

Contention 1: Mandatory Service is unconstitutional
Our country's founding fathers wrote the Constitution to give citizens their rights, and for a mutual understanding of what is acceptable by both parties. In the Constitution it is never mentioned the citizens would be forced to do national service, in fact, the idea was intentionally omitted. The 13th amendment states that: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Greater government power

Compulsory service would turn citizens into the government's pawns and restrict the freedom of choice granted to us by our constitution. Mandatory service lies in direct opposition to the principles this country was founded on. Jacob Hornberger, founder and President of the Future of Freedom Foundation, warns that required service is the first step to tyranny. "We are not brought into the world to serve the state; the state is brought into existence by the people to serve us through the protection of our natural rights." In his book Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau states, "The best government is that which governs the least." The government should not see its people as means to an end, and mandatory service encourages this kind of thinking.

b) Threatens independence
Mandatory national service is a threat to the freedom and independence of American citizens. The government goes against its own outline (as spelled out in the Constitution) by restricting its citizens' right to freedom of choice. It is possible to be patriotic and also recognize the problems in one's country. Most countries with conscription, such as Israel, Iran, and South Korea, are locked in a state of conflict with their neighbors. The governments of these countries have deemed conscription necessary in the interest of national security. It is one thing for there to be a draft during times of war, but in times of peace, no American citizen should be forced to do national service.

Contention 2: Mandatory Service Undermines the efficiency and cohesion of the military
Military

The U.S. military has come to a point of being able to serve for their country in a effective manner. The United States does not need more soldiers who they would have to arm, feed, and cloth. Everyone in the military wants to be there, and if the government forces people to join, it will not have the same effect. McCaffrey, a retired four-star Army general stated "My age group learned to love the volunteer military. (National Service) makes sense in a civic sense" (But) it would lead to lesser-quality soldiers. We've never had better soldiers in the country's history"

Volunteerism
If the government forces the people to volunteer, it is no longer volunteering. A volunteer, according to Oxford Dictionary, is a person who freely takes part in an enterprise or undertake a task. With mandatory service, the person does not have the choice to give their time to do something good for their society, they are forced to. The government should put effort into encouraging citizens, not force them to do something against their will. Forcing volunteering will discourage people to continue to do good things later in life.

Conclusion: National service is a bad idea for the United States because it is unconstitutional, takes away the people's rights, gives the government more power, and undermines the military (and volunteering.)