• Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    The title is not entirely correct. They don’t plant to “introduce” conscription. Germany had conscription from its formation of the Bundeswehr in 1955 until it was put on hiatus in 2011 because people back then thought that Ivan was no longer a problem. So what they think about is not “introducing” but just reactivate it.

    The changes will be that while before 2011, conscription was only for men, it is planned to be for both sexes, and military service will no longer the one preferred service (back then, you had to go through quite some hoops if you did not want to serve in the Bundeswehr and do your time in e.g. social services). This time, the military option is just one of several that can be chosen.

    • luckystarr@feddit.de
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      6 months ago

      At this stage it’s all hot air. Nobody has even started talking about how to finance it and the defense minister isn’t even 100% sure he will get his requested additional funds for the next cycle. When somebody asked him about the topic he replied that he isn’t categorically against it but he would have to finance (and restructure, as the necessary infrastructure for it has been degraded/scrapped) more important topics first.

    • Knossos@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      It isn’t just about the military. I’ve not read the article, but Germany suffers from not having enough people working in social services. This problem got worse after getting rid of conscription. You could either choose military service or social work.

      By reintroducing it, they hope to fill in some gaps.

      • ed_cock@feddit.de
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        6 months ago

        “What should we do to get more people working in the health sector?”

        “Better pay and more manageable shifts!”

        “Roll back privatization to shift the focus to sustainability over profits!”

        “I’d just enslave the youth again.”

        [Employee 1& 2 get defenestrated for a change]

            • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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              6 months ago

              That’s a great idea, but how much glass do you need to knock out of a window before it just becomes door.

            • Miaou@jlai.lu
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              6 months ago

              Der Fenstersturzschein des TÜV ist für nur einen Fenstersturz gültig. Sie müssen die Fenstersturzmeldungstelle noch mal kontaktiert um einen neuen Schein zu bekommen, dann einen anderen Termin bei uns nachfragen. Schönen tag noch. HALLO NÄCHSTE BITTE

              Apparently not :(

      • BaroqueInMind@lemmy.one
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        6 months ago

        U.S.A. should adopt this policy. It would humble out the nepo children of wealthy pieces of shit, and likely resolve the social issues that people complain about.

        • Xhieron@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          The nepo babies wouldn’t serve–same as always. And the political unpopularity of conscription has never changed. The last war draft is still in living memory, and US current military activity hasn’t been an improvement in terms of public appetite.

          The US introduces conscription again, and there’ll be riots–and I don’t mean “some kids camped at college and the jackboots locked them up” protests; it’ll be government-building burning, widespread-looting riots.

          If you want to do conscription, the kids have to trust the government not to kill them for oil.

          • gornar@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            They should never trust the government for that specifically - they’re always looking for someone to kill for oil!

        • lobut@lemmy.ca
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          6 months ago

          I think making the rich mingle with the normal people more would be beneficial. It’s harder to dehumanize the poor when you’ve met them. Can’t call them lazy or stupid and just not “wanting” it enough when you see them work as hard as you and not getting as far.

          Although, I think the way things are it’ll never happen though. Nepo babies would dodge everything even if something like this were to occur.

          • vividspecter@lemm.ee
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            6 months ago

            There’s better ways, like reducing car dependency and increasing housing density. Have people from all walks of life, live near each other and travel with each other, without being isolated in metal boxes. The ultra rich might still avoid that too, but at least the 99% will be around each other.

            And you don’t need to force people to go to war to achieve it.

            • lobut@lemmy.ca
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              6 months ago

              You’re absolutely right. I was trying to get what I hoped was the salient point out of the person’s post.

              I knew a few guys in Europe I think maybe Austrian or something where they came from lots of money but went to school with “others” and they seemed pretty well-adjusted. Although, they have a lot of the other advantages that you’ve listed as well.

        • Senshi@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Maybe we should turn this idea around? I know tons of healthy rich old people that have nothing better to do than bicker and complain, how about we force them to do a free full year of community service? Why is their time and energy considered more valuable than the youths’?

          And maybe it would humble those wealthy nepo pieces of shit, and likely resolve the social issues that people complain about.

          • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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            6 months ago

            I’d applaud giving Elon Musk a chance to live out his flamethrower power fantasies in person.

            Is a flamethrower a completely inappropriate weapon in modern warfare? Yes. Should we tell him that? Don’t you fucking dare.

        • Tryptaminev@lemm.ee
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          6 months ago

          I had a class mate who spent his holidays hiking in Nepal and places with his parents. When he was born a doctor close to his parents discovered a serious heart issue that made him ineligible for being drafted. I mean sure. You have a heart issue that you can’t run 30 minutes, but you are doing week long hikes in 5.000-6.000m altitude.

        • andrewta@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          I’ve not met very many vets that support mandatory service. When I say not many, I could count them on one hand.

          • elucubra@sopuli.xyz
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            6 months ago

            That’s because in the US you could be sent abroad to kill brown people for oil. I was a conscript in my country in the 80’s (Nato). In my country conscripts couldn’t be sent abroad, only professionals. I’d be ok with defending home soil. That doen’t mean that I wanted to do my tour, but I did it. I think I learnt a lot, not least about serving for the common good. Looking back it was good for me. Also, at hat time, after service you’d be in the reserves (simply listed) and the country could raise an army of millions, who’d only need some refresher training in a week, not like the green ass russian conscripts in Ukraine right now.

            I’m favor of conscription for limited duration, and no possibility of deployment abroad. Also, women too. That wasn’t a thing then.

      • febra@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Yeah, instead of actually fixing the system and paying people normal wages, while also fixing the stupid education/certification system that social service workers need to go through, let’s just throw a bunch of teenagers at it, it will surely fix our problems!

      • psmgx@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        You could either choose military service or social work.

        Also some hospital work. Bedpan cleaning, etc.

        But it kept you out of the army, and took the strain off of hospitals and social services.

    • hungryphrog
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      6 months ago

      Probably that, and also gender equality. I’m not really in the favor of drafting, but it’s unfair that men have to go and women don’t.

  • boredtortoise@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    That is so sad, these kinds of times should already be over in humanity’s history. Why doesn’t anyone have a solution? Are the war mongering powers just waiting for the new nuclear deterrent? Future AI terminators pls just go straight to Russia/China/USA leadership and let the humans be

    • venusaur@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      It’s because the leaders aren’t the ones fighting the battles or being targeted. They’re playing chess somewhere far from the violence.

      • hungryphrog
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        6 months ago

        We should just solve conflicts by throwing the presidents or monarchs of the opposing countries in an arena to fight to death.

        • power
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          6 months ago

          I think it’d be better if we disregarded highly authoritarian leaders in general and embraced socialism. Back in the day, kings and emperors fought their battles, but it didn’t make their feudalism any less… feudal.

          • lud@lemm.ee
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            6 months ago

            Unfortunately humans are greedy so that won’t ever happen.

            • jorp@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              Humans cooperated and formed large confederations long before capitalism and liberalism were ideas.

              It’s true that unequal and selfish organisations have often consolidated power and squashed other organisations but we’ve also seen humanity going the opposite way many times before.

              To shrug our shoulders and say humans are inherently greedy so socialism can’t work is a cop out. We’ve dismantled unequal power structures many times before and we can do it again

        • samus12345@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          [T]he ministers and generals of the two countries, dressed in bathing-drawers and armed with clubs, can have it out among themselves. Whoever survives, his country wins. That would be much simpler and more just than this arrangement, where the wrong people do the fighting.

          - Kat, All Quiet on the Western Front

          • fuckingkangaroos@lemm.ee
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            6 months ago

            "Sorry ole chap, turns out all those cigars didn’t do Churchill any favors. Hitler took him out in under a minute.

            Anyway, we heard you’re gay, so here’s a bullet in your ear."

        • venusaur@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          That would be interesting. We’d definitely have to shift who we elect towards more violent leaders tho, and idk how I feel about that haha.

      • boredtortoise@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        There’s also conscription in places which don’t attack others, because of an attack threat from a neighbor. I just hope that whatever helps humanity forward, goes to the root cause. Imperialist state oligarchs are a good start. And other billionaires

  • katy ✨
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    6 months ago

    i don;t like conscription into the military but i’ve always felt some sort of manatory non-military civil or social service or peace corps participation would do a lot for encouraging civic participation in exchange for some sort of universal educational system or some form of reimbursement for secondary education.

    • PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@feddit.uk
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      6 months ago

      in exchange for some sort of universal educational system or some form of reimbursement for secondary education.

      That’s supposed to be the taxes you pay for the rest of you life

      • katy ✨
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        6 months ago

        taxes don’t allow you to appreciate civic participation…

    • Johnmannesca@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      In this day and age it feels like a McDonald’s worker could ai copilot a drone better than the folks over in Israel, so no I totally disagree with conscription without certain safeguards in place to prevent genocide or other dumbfuckery.

  • Amoxtli@thelemmy.club
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    6 months ago

    Germany needs to draft soldiers to go to Ukraine as soon as possible and help the Ukrainians, because it is the right thing to do.

    • ElmarsonTheThird@discuss.tchncs.de
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      6 months ago

      Draft soldiers of Germany are not allowed to operate outside of our own borders and are used to fill the gaps that stem from professional soldiers working abroad. The Bundeswehr and especially the draftees can only be used for peacekeeping, humanitarian aid and defense.

    • SkyezOpen@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      As much as I would like to see Russia get shitmixed by a proper first world army (not that Ukraine hasn’t been doing phenomenally), I think that might actually put putin in a corner.

      Ideally we’ll just keep giving Ukraine equipment and propagandize how hard they’re kicking russian ass and sanction the hell out of Russia until the people and oligarchs lose their appetite for Ukraine.

    • febra@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      How about our military stays between our own borders. Let those that want to go go. But don’t force a bunch of our youth to go fight someone else’s war.

      • fuckingkangaroos@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        I bet you could find a bunch of people saying this almost word-for-word as Hitler took Czechoslovakia.