Let’s say there’s a pair of new parents, and that they don’t have family support. This is already a common reality for many new families.
Let’s say that now there’s a mandated enlistment because of a war. Which parent will go? Will they play rock paper scissors, or will they have to trust the government to randonly decide for them? Is it ethical for the government to decide who goes? Is it ethical for them to make new parents make that choice?
If they’re both going, who will care for the young child? I certainly wouldn’t trust strangers to watch babies en masse if the parents would be gone for a very long time at minimum.
Maybe mandated enlistment isn’t where it’s at, and maybe we should also be making sure that we’re giving people a reason to want to fight for their country again. Laws against fleeing will only do so much when we have such a large planet.
Do you do a better job when you’re forced to do something, or do you do a better job when you’re passionate about something?
Christians and Catholics permanently steered me away from being religious before I was even in high school.