this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2024
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A Boring Dystopia
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I had a very anti-war sociology professor that had been protesting since vietnam. Despite his qualms with military industrial complex, he would always say that the the military is the last vestige of upward mobility in the united states as it's one of the few places where you can enter a playing field that is somewhat leveled for new entries, have merit impact your growth, and get access things like subsidized education. Sure there's still racism, sexism, etc. but in terms of economic mobility it provides a decent ladder.
It's also a great way to demoralize an entire generation of young people and have a lot of low-key insubordination in the ranks. Most people are aware the VA treats many of their veterans like absolute garbage. It took Jon Stewart years to force the VA to acknowledge that soldiers who had to work on burn pits got lung cancer from their jobs. Imagine how many other health issues they're trying to dodge responsibility from. Mexico is also full of veterans who were promised citizenship but were rewarded with deportation after their contract ended instead.
Well a draft is for times of war. But mandatory military service in a democracy... Does that lead to anti war policies. If every family had skin in the game knowing their kid could go to war, does that help elect anti war politicians?