If you argue it is important because there is a shortage of manpower, then I have a harder time arguing against you.
I may still disagree because I don’t believe forced labourers make quality personnels, soldiers are often used to serve the elites more than they do the people (let’s not pretend the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan benefit ordinary Americans), the government should have asked why the manpower shortage exists in the first place and conscription will actually stretches the resources of the armed forces (even though the conscripts are already underpaid). But, you still have a leg to stand on, no matter how feeble.
However your argument about how it benefits the youth by instilling discipline and a sense of kinship is stupid. I do agree those traits are important……. and hence why I believe parents and teachers are responsible for them.
You can enforce discipline by setting reasonably demanding rules and be consistent with their implementations. You can also teach children and teens about the importance of community works, exploring the world beyond our cultural bubbles and finding common grounds with our fellow countrymen.
If you truly believe in their importance, you wouldn’t let bad parents, incompetent schools and entire societies off the hook. You would demand them to instill those traits upon the youths.
Or maybe, you just want an easy way out. For you, enforcing national service is much easier than holding parents and schools accountable, as the latter requires “revamping” entire societies and systems. You don’t like the possibility that you may be a part of the problem.
Oh, and if you think those services are beneficial in any ways, why don’t you volunteer yourself? Why don’t you voluntarily enlist to the armed forces or apply for community services which are generally far less strict regarding your age and physique? Why do you need the government to threaten you with imprisonment?
The simplest possible explanation is you are virtue signalling.
Either that or your kink is to see younger people to have it as hard you did, if not harder. You feel personally attacked when they have much easier lives.
I also think the obligation to serve your country is a stupid argument.
Unless you are one of the handful of people who voluntarily move to a different country as an adult and voluntarily take the citizenship (it doesn’t count if you are an asylum seeker), no one chooses the country they were born and raised in. You are a Brit, you are an American, you are an Indonesian because you were born and raised in the UK, US and Indonesia, respectively.
“Ask not what the country can do to you, ask what you can do for your country” is a quote I despise. It demands us to sacrifice for our countries and it shames us for demanding them to return the favours. It champions sacrifice as a one-way street.
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The Stammering Dunce 