Critical thinking essay 800-1000 words

Serving the Nation: A Universal Call

Israel requires all of its young men to serve three years of mandatory military service. The Israeli Defense Force drafts women, too, but not for combat positions. Sweden does not have a professional army. Instead, all of its younger men train for military service and then remain in the reserves until age forty-seven. The United States would do well to follow suit and require all of its young men and women to serve in the military for one or two years after leaving high school.

Opponents of compulsory service object that universal conscription would cost too much. They argue that Americans won't permit an increase in taxes to fund a significantly larger military. However, these critics forget that freedom is not free.

All Americans should have the opportunity to serve their country. Also, learning to defend one's homeland is a patriotic obligation. Therefore, young people should be proud to devote a short time of their lives to fulfill an important civic responsibility.

This country needs compulsory military service in order to train its citizens to combat terrorism and to give them the skills to respond to threats and attacks of any kind. After World War II in 1945, President Truman noted that America's "geographic security is gone—gone with the advent of the atomic bomb, the rocket, and modern airborne armies." Yet fewer than 6 percent of Americans under the age of sixty-five know anything about military service. The rest of the population relies on a relatively small number of servicemen and women to protect them. This is a dangerous state of affairs given that the twenty-first century has ushered in a new age of warfare, one that often takes the form of attacks on innocent civilians. Americans can no longer be complacent or expect others to guard their safety. All citizens need to learn the specialized communication, emergency response, and civil defense skills necessary for combating various kinds of threats to the nation's security.

Mandatory military service would also help close the social gap that currently divides Americans from one another. According to journalism professor and naval reservist Philip Meyer, "One of the unplanned consequences of the military draft is a great leveling effect, where social-class distinctions are set aside." If all young men and women were once again required to serve together as equals, democratic ideals would be reinforced, and divisions between people of different classes would be narrowed.

In an era when America is threatened by suicide bombers and bioterrorism, it makes sense for all citizens to participate in basic military training. One to two years of service is a small price to pay for a stronger defense and greater national unity.

Serving the Nation (150510)