Shamelessly stolen idea from reddit because I love it.
Mandatory military service is often discussed in terms of duty, national security, and so on. Given the current environmental crisis facing the species which Is likely to continue into the near future, would you support a mandatory environmentalism service, some term of service people are required to serve between the ages of 18 and say 30, or face penalties, until the crisis has passed.
The typical benefits of mandatory military service translate over here, it could serve as a means to instill national values, teach skills, discipline, team work and so on, allow large scale projects to be completed, and protects us from a species scale disaster.
Activities could include forestry, recycling, litter picking, renewables creation and installation, and so on. The usual drawbacks include conscientious objection, but for this project such an argument doesn't appear to hold up. Nor do the dangers of militarization of a nation and how it makes war more appealing, in fact, the culture it would instill in the public could generate something akin to Prussian militarism of an environmental style and dramatically alter a societies behavior. The only argument against mandatory military service which appears to translate is the standard liberty argument, which can surely only be viewed relative to the threat posed.
So, discuss I guess?
