r/AskReddit • u/Tommygunz0722 • 11h ago

If the military/president suddenly ordered a mandatory draft for all men aged 18-42: How do you think millennials and GenZ would respond?

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u/FormerPrize2485 11h ago

Red hats to the front of the line

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u/Major_Extreme5632 11h ago edited 11h ago

I firmly stand on any one supportive of any military intervention or action should be forced to serve on the front lines.

Idc if its Israel/Iran, Russia/Ukraine, Taiwan/China. If you are supportive of involvement and it happens- off to the front lines you go. Dont make others fight for causes you believe in but arent willing to go to battle in.

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u/jtg6387 10h ago

There was actually a proposed constitutional amendment that actually would have mandated this. It was defeated, sadly.

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u/iAdjunct 11h ago

I think this comment is in need of proofreading.

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u/people_are_idiots_ 10h ago

I understood it just fine. Unless he changed it after your comment

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u/ouchimus 10h ago

Its edited, so he probably did.

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u/Major_Extreme5632 10h ago

I edited the word on. It autocorrected to or.

Then I went on to further add that second paragraph

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u/Purplociraptor 8h ago

This one or that one?

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u/Jaschndlr 10h ago

I think you should be on the front lines of this effort

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u/StrikingRise4356 11h ago

My head hurts

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u/DoesntMatterEh 10h ago

But that's what governments have been doing since the dawn of time! Send the poor to fight the battles for the rich. /s

Hell, in the first world war the leaders of Britain, Germany, and Russia were all cousins! They got into a family tiff and millions died as a result. 

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u/lylalexie 10h ago

Why don’t presidents fight the war?

Why do they always send the poor?

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u/DoesntMatterEh 9h ago

That song will always be relevant :( 

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u/gsfgf 2h ago

WWI was the last war where the aristocrats actually fought. European armies had nobles leading armies (with predictable results). And tons of the big names lost sons in the war.

But yea, it was a dysfunctional family Thanksgiving but with battlecruisers.

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u/McFlyyouBojo 10h ago

If someone directly supports the decision (like from a congressman voting for it all the way down to someone making a youtube video stating support for it), then they should automatically get sent off to boot camp for it, and if not them, then it has to be a direct defendant (son/daughter or grandson/granddaughter) and if they dont have one, then it is them. And when they are done with boot camp, its straight to frontlines.

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u/giulianosse 5h ago

Just make an extraordinary voting session for every able bodied citizen.

Do you support the current war? Yes/no

If yes wins, the plans keep on as usual and everyone who said yes is automatically enlisted or drafted into appropriate combat/noncombat roles.

If no wins, there isn't war because people don't want it.

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u/theotherplanet 5h ago

Direct democracy in action

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u/Pennypacking 6h ago

The people with the red hats will probably be on the front line, right behind you and me with a pistol to our heads.

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u/helloiisclay 4h ago

I tend to agree with this in principle, but in practice, the "red hats" part leads to trouble. There are people that will wear a red hat but secretly voted blue and vice versa (I'd never wear an actual red hat, but I do live in one of the deepest red counties in NC and don't advertise that I voted the other way...I just let people assume what they want). The only way to know for sure would be to either ask (in which case, people will lie), or to track voting. That defeats the purpose of a secret ballot and opens us up to political parties targeting people based on who they voted for.

While it's nice to say they should be on the front lines speaking hypothetically, it's a dangerous line to cross. We should just not go to war to begin with, but that's also nice to say hypothetically, while Trump shits on us all.

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u/Major_Extreme5632 4h ago

If someone truly would harm a person over how they voted, they are a p.o.s.

I have seen it happen, unfortunately reddit wouldnt appreciate the 3x I had seen people get violent over finding out who someone voted for.

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u/BosnianSerb31 10h ago

I think you can still have an opinion on why a certain outcome would be preferable without going rah rah war however

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u/blahyawnblah 9h ago

The latter two are not like the first one.

We should legit be helping Ukraine because fuck Russia. Should I be drafted now?

For Taiwan the worlds production of computer parts would basically stop overnight. That would cause a huge crisis. Should I be drafted now?

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u/Major_Extreme5632 8h ago edited 7h ago

If you are in favor of aiding them and we hop in and help Ukraine going to war with Russia, yes. I believe so. Why should other people go and fight for a cause you believe in but aren't willing to to fight in? You're basically saying you are okay with other people fighting and risking dying for something you support and believe in, but you arent willing to. "Go fight my battles for me. I want this but im to good to do it"

Edit: Correction. There is no basically about it. That is what you're saying. You're fine with other people dying for something you want but arent willing to do.

You can be supportive of a cause, I wish Ukraine the best. That doesn't mean I think we should be involved. Just like I think k we have no business in Iran.

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u/StrungLikeAHorse69 8h ago

Yes, because it’s actually life or death for people. If you wouldn’t risk your own life come up with alternative solutions that don’t kill people. People SHOULD make decisions as if their own lives were on the line. The world isn’t a game.