Lately some BBS posts are about people complaining military ads on NG and or school 'spam' lists. As this incites some responses calling out that it is an honour to join the military, I wanted to ask you this: Would you die for your country?

More specific: Suppose in a few years (hypothetically) the army sends you a letter stating that th government decided to invade, let's say Iran or N. Korea, and the army calls out to every youngling to join the army and go fight the war. Would you want to go?

On one hand, their is this great honour you can provide to fight for your nation and die a honourable death.
However, you 'd still be dead, so what good is that honour to you? Also, you will be forced to actually kill people in combat, which might in real life be much scarier and wrecking on a conscience than killing someone in a videogame or making empty threats on line.

Theirused to be a mandatory draft for everyone a while ago, but it's been cancelled by now. I'm personally happy for this, since I am absolutely no army material (all that physical training etcetera) and I am too much of a dogooder to hurt, let alone kill a person. Also, I like living too much. I personally hope there will not be another day people are sent to war by law.

I'd die defending my country, not attacking another one.

Nope. Our country doesn't deserve it.

I would be willing to die to protect liberty, democracy. I would also willingly die for the LGBT rights movement.

I think the ethos of national pride for most countries in the world has fallen massively since the late 1910s onwards. I personally wouldn't go to invade an enemy territory if I was eligible to do so. If the country I lived in at the time was under attack, that might change the circumstances, but otherwise no. I also think that if conscription was introduced, it simply wouldn't work, not anymore.

making up for what bush did? no thanks!

I would give my life to help against a threat to our existence. But dying in a pointless war of "my country is better" I would not do.

At 6/1/10 05:17 PM, Ragnarokia wrote: I would give my life to help against a threat to our existence. But dying in a pointless war of "my country is better" I would not do.

Would you have gone to war in WWII?

I like to think that if needed I would die for my country. I'd hate to see this place with it's thousands of years of history taken away and changed for the bad. Why else was the UK the biggest fighting force against the Nazis?

As the quote goes from Home Alone;

"This is my house, I have to protect it."

I'd defend it but i wouldn't attack another country

If I was forced to go to war, gladly.
But I wouldn't sign up for the military and go out willingly. Fuck that, no reason. My country has not done anything for me, it's not worth dying for.

i would rather my country die for me......... but im not royalty

At 6/1/10 05:04 PM, RubberTrucky wrote: I personally hope there will not be another day people are sent to war by law.

That's pretty much the case in my country. Not that I am too upset about it, I'd be more than willing to go to war if given the chance, to die would be a great honor as you stated.

As for the actual war and killing, well, I'm pretty sure the military training would gear you up for that, although a I hear a lot of soldiers suffer from post traumatic stress disorders (I think that's what it's called?). I wonder, even after years of harsh training, what it would feel like to actually kill a man for the first time.

But that's just my 2 cents.

At 6/1/10 05:15 PM, Joshsouza wrote: making up for what bush did? no thanks!

Took the words right out of my mouth.

At 6/1/10 05:04 PM, RubberTrucky wrote: Would you die for your country?

Suppose in a few years (hypothetically) the army sends you a letter stating that th government decided to invade, let's say Iran or N. Korea, and the army calls out to every youngling to join the army and go fight the war. Would you want to go?

On one hand, their is this great honour you can provide to fight for your nation and die a honourable death.
However, you 'd still be dead, so what good is that honour to you? Also, you will be forced to actually kill people in combat, which might in real life be much scarier and wrecking on a conscience than killing someone in a videogame or making empty threats on line.

Theirused to be a mandatory draft for everyone a while ago, but it's been cancelled by now. I'm personally happy for this, since I am absolutely no army material (all that physical training etcetera) and I am too much of a dogooder to hurt, let alone kill a person. Also, I like living too much. I personally hope there will not be another day people are sent to war by law.

Hell no. I despise the American government for its corruption, greed, and to be honest--its basic lack of common sense. There's no way I'm giving my life--my value as a human being--to a country whose policies do not reflect my views. I am definitely not about to fight in any war I don't support the cause of.

And if there's a draft? I'll leave the country. They can't force me to fight. They can't force me to give up my basic rights to fight in some pointless war.

OK, maybe I'd fight if our country was being attacked. If my rights and my security are at risk, sure. But I'm not going overseas to fight. End of story.

Not a chance.

I live in a country with conscript for all men. I toook the civillian service option, because I believe that a) I was far more useful helping out at a kindergarden for 12 months than digging holes in a forest for six months and b) wars result in senseless loss of human life and should be avoided.

If there was an invasion, my untrained ass would be quite useless, but I'd be willing to help with bomb shelters, first aid, whatever.

The point is, a society shouldn't be run on the prinicple that any day now you might be in war, societies like that are highly unproductive. If you live in a developed country, it's in fact highly unlikely you'll ever see war. The point is to build a multi-lateral system where war is against everyone's interests. Professional soldiers often look down on civillians. But tell me, where does the tax money come from, that pays for your flat screen TV? I know for a fact that US soldiers live it up on tax money. And where did that monney come from? Industry, trade... things not done by the military.

So if the ship's about to sink but you could get out, you'd prefer to stay and fight?

Nope. No point having a good country if I'm too dead to enjoy it. I'd just move somewhere else.

As a person who totally-was-not-insecure-about-himself once said, you don't win wars by dieing for your country, you win by making some other loser die for their country.

If there was a possibility of a draft, I would join the military because even if I wasn't drafted. It would be that serious of a war, where I feel the obligation to fight for my country

At 6/1/10 05:06 PM, MiroDK wrote: I'd die defending my country, not attacking another one.

this seems the best answer here..

and what fucking honor? Im not a man unless I kill other people because someone told me to? I wont die for a piece of land that I dont even own. Especially not when fighting a political war, like the war on terror. An actual enemy like the nazis? then Id fight.

Die for my country? Hell no, I'm from England - in reality a fair chunk of it is a shit hole.

Also, I don't see anything honorable about getting shot, blown up or tortured.

At 6/1/10 05:49 PM, Clonedcrumb wrote: As a person who totally-was-not-insecure-about-himself once said, you don't win wars by dieing for your country, you win by making some other loser die for their country.

That one person just happened to be George S Patton, only the greatest military leader in US history.

No, I would never end my life soley in the name of my country. For my life is all I have; when I'm dead, I'm dead -- there is no magical heaven where I'll live on blissfully for eternity. But, I'd die my for soldiers: if I was in a battle and I'd have to risk it all to save my brothers in arms, I would. Because, we are all only granted one life, and sometimes it's better to die valorously, saving your friends, than to live a meaningless existence as a coward.

In the words of the late Douglas Zembiec, "I had rather live one day as a lion than 100 years as a dog."

Die so that a bunch of obese hicks can continue shopping at Wal-Marts in peace?

Yeah, no thanks.

If I got to have a choice in the matter... I probably wouldn't. I'm just being honest.

At 6/1/10 05:06 PM, MiroDK wrote: I'd die defending my country, not attacking another one.

This^
Even though I'd more likely do it for my family and my friends.

It heavily depends on what we're fighting for...if it was a "LOL RANDOM INVASION" type of thing like the wars America usually fights, then hell no..if it's to defend my country against invaders, well, do I have a choice?

At 6/1/10 06:20 PM, HeavyTank wrote: It heavily depends on what we're fighting for...if it was a "LOL RANDOM INVASION" type of thing like the wars America usually fights, then hell no..if it's to defend my country against invaders, well, do I have a choice?

Would you have gone to Afghanistan after 9/11?