Military conscription is unjust.

Round 7 of the Online Facebook Debate. War. Huh, yeah, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. - Edwin Starr Our good buddy Edwin may not have an amazingly complex way of saying this, but the point is made. War is not a good thing. So is it possible to claim that forcing individuals to participate in something that is good for "absolutely nothing" can actually be just? I strongly stand by the resolution: military conscription is unjust. Well seeing as there are only about 4 words to define, I figured I would define them all but "is" because I assume we aren't going to get into a debate about the concept of "being." Definitions: Military - of, for, or pertaining to the army or armed forces, often as distinguished from the navy. Conscription - compulsory enrollment of persons for military or naval service; draft. Unjust- not just; lacking in justice or fairness. Thus my arguments in this debate are going to revolve around the fact that forced enrollment into the armed forces is lacking in justice or fairness. So to start off with, let's look at my first argument. 1. Conscription in and of itself is unjust. Military conscription, the idea of being forced enrollment of people to serve their country, where they desire to or not, is simply unjust. Often times, people are pulled from their lives, randomly, to serve in the military to fight in a conflict that most likely doesn't affect them. This basically means that the person who is selected to serve for his country in the military has little or no choice in the matter of whether or not he wants to pick up a gun and risk his life. That very lack of choice makes the idea of conscription unjust. 2. The restrictions and exceptions make military conscription unjust. Let's take America for example. Being of the age of 21, I was required 3 years ago to register in the selective services. The basic restrictions are that all males that are registered citizens between the age of 18 and 25 are put on a list and given a number that in the event of a draft, that number could be drawn and force you to serve. On top of that, if you choose not to register, you are fined up to $250,000, serve up to 5 years in prison and the male will not receive funding from the government for education purposes (i.e. grants). So not only is the age restriction unfair in that it forces those who are starting their lives after high school, but it is also unjust in that it only requires males. Another exception is the idea of allowing exceptions to who doesn't have to serve. For example, if a male between the ages of 18-25 is going to school, he is exempt from the draft. So those who choose to not continue on to higher education, or went to school and no longer in the higher education area are no longer exempt. The idea that some people can avoid serving while others do not have the option to work around the system just further exposes the unfair nature of military conscription. 3. The people who enact the draft are exempt from serving. Let's take into consideration the fact that those who have the potential to be enlisted are 18-25. This means that it is impossible for them to serve as a senator or representative of their state. Who is it that makes the ultimate decision to reenact the selective service bill? Senators and Representatives. The very fact that those people who decide whether or not to institute the draft will no have to worry about being selected means that the decision ultimately is not fair to those who serve, simply because they do not have say in whether or not they agree with the idea. 4. Military service is not a good thing. So basically, the fact that the draft's selection process isn't fair should be a strong argument on why it is not fair. But let's look at the results of being enlisted a little more closely. Like I stated in the first argument, young men (in the case of America) are forced to leave their friends and family, often times travel overseas to risk their lives. Fighting in a conflict itself, whether it is at home or abroad, often times has long lasting effects on the soldiers involved. War experiences scar the psyche and bodies of those who participate and can potentially leave irreparable damage. So you see, the very nature of the draft is largely unjust for many reasons. The fact that people are force to become involved in an armed conflict because of their sex and age should be blatant reasons as to why military conscription is unfair. Thank you for your time judges, and good luck to my opponent.