Conscription

I know it's an old, old argument, but I stepped in it and I guess I oughta respond.

One thing exposed during the Bush years is how facile the small government philosophy is for a large percentage of conservatives. If the rest of the government suffers from massive waste, corruption, and mission creep, why would it be any different for the dot-mil? They’re not really complaining about the size of government at all, but simply in which direction the power should be abused.

Og, if we’re discussing the topic of reading comprehension skills, you might notice that I said central Africa, not South. You know, the places where trucks of hopped-up teenage conscripts off each other (and opposing villages) in service to the Big Man? That was more the image I was going for…

But hyperbole aside, as someone who has actually, ya’ know, worked in Switzerland, I think I grasp your point, even if I think it’s way off base. It’s funny how a certain sub-sect of gunnies trot out some nebulous "Swiss Model” when they get warm fuzzies about compulsory military service. Well, the system over there is a lot less compulsory than y’all imagine. In most cantons, it’s a lot less intrusive than the Selective Service is over here.

Don’t get me wrong – pacifist is the very last word you’d use to describe me. I shoot and train, and if Red Dawn ever happened I’d be shouting “Wolverines!” along with all the other gun-clingin’ hicks. That's my idea of militia service. But my life is not subject to somebody else’s idea of how useful I can be to “society” (whatever the hell that is). Sorry you regret not joining the Marines when you were younger, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of us need to do so to make up for it. I reject your goals of “unifying” citizens and “making them something else.” Actually, I’d much prefer a little less unifying and a lot less making into something elses.

UPDATE: Neanderpundit responds.