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Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

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Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#51

Post by teeray »

lokar wrote: post #6
dylan604 wrote: post #5

Opening graph: "We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost," says military contractor and all-around surveillance-enabler Palantir. If that's the case, then every war to be fought needs to have the say so of those that will be doing the fighting and not the solitary decision made by a delusional leader tha…

Exactly. Enforce the war powers of congress and require a non-delegatable per-war approval. Hell, require the approval of 3/4 of governors as well.

How about a random sample of registered voters too? It would be nice to have a cohort that cannot be bought and paid for.

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#53

Post by naim08 »

_doctor_love wrote: post #20

Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…

I dont know if its worth 2 years of our lives. 2 years! A lot can be achieved in just two years

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#54

Post by uoaei »

dfee wrote: post #28
tw04 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But everyone won’t have skin in the game. We’ve played this game before. The uber wealthy and politically connected kids will either get outright deferments, or cushy positions that never have them sniffing any danger beyond carpal tunnel. It’s no different than the republicans that are violently against abortion and then you find out they’ve funded multiple for their mistresses. They’re perfectly fine with a law ban…

They certainly don't have skin in the game now, either!

Right, in the minds of millions right now there's literally no reason to fight for this country. This country certainly ignores their existence and refuses to honor most forms of basic rights as health, education, and shelter. It really only cares if you mess up your tax return.

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#55

Post by reactordev »

_doctor_love wrote: post #20

Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…

The issue is, in America, we gave those less fortunate the path of military service as we value the greedy, the corrupt, nepotistic, capitalist notion that if you have enough money, laws do not apply to you.

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#57

Post by cdrnsf »

_doctor_love wrote: post #20

Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…

The US hasn't cared about the social contract for decades and it hasn't taken justifiable military action for a longer stretch of time. Healthcare is byzantine and terrible, education is being gutted on ideological grounds, social stability is eroding, wealth inequality is an ever widening chasm, the climate is being degraded, AI is a threat looming over much (if not all) of this. Why volunteer? The arrogance to think a draft or mandatory service is anywhere in the realm of acceptable is galling.

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#58

Post by rhcom2 »

causal wrote: post #42
_doctor_love wrote: post #20

Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…

I like the idea of civic engagement / service in theory too, but I feel like the Vietnam war was a demonstration of possible failure modes when draft is in place: a lot of poor kids died, some rich kids allegedly used parental influence to dodge the draft. No incentive for leaders to avoid war while loop holes remain for their own interests.

I think you could argue the draft forced the war to be real for more families (and the expansion of TV), intensifying the resistance to it. Quick googling says almost 10% of the population served in Vietnam in some capacity. Less than 1% served in the War on Terror.

This was part of Charles Rangel's (D) reasoning to propose bringing back the draft. [1]

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_National_Service_Act

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#60

Post by nobodyandproud »

causal wrote: post #42
_doctor_love wrote: post #20

Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…

I like the idea of civic engagement / service in theory too, but I feel like the Vietnam war was a demonstration of possible failure modes when draft is in place: a lot of poor kids died, some rich kids allegedly used parental influence to dodge the draft. No incentive for leaders to avoid war while loop holes remain for their own interests.

A formal declaration of war by Congress is the minimum.

Otherwise I agree that the incentives are warped.

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