General Chat

The sad thing is though Devon Dweller, NS should never have been 'thrown out' in the first place..Then maybe, ,just maybe, we wouldn't have as many 'street' problems which we have now.. And as previously said, these young people do not have to be combatant...John

no i didnt.

most certainly absolutely not.

But did you vote for the government who sent us to war illegally?

any form of compulsory service - military or otherwise - has too many cons and not enough pros.

Firstly - taxation. You are taking a generation out of the equation - they need to be paid and equipped and fed. Higher taxes and no productivity.

Secondly - why should my son suffer for the sins of others?

Thirdly - to what point? Why do we need a large conscript military? We don't.

Fourthly - would you vote for any government who wanted to take all our children away and put them in the military ( I presume that National Service would include both male and females.....it being the year 2008?) I certainly wouldn't!


I can think of loads more cons and no pros.

What do you mean Island?

and that's a YES from me, it could solve a lot of problems
Janet

Thankyou John.
For all you others out there I was not just saying that all of the younger generation (kate) are a waste and cause trouble.
As john has alluded National Service could help some people find a trade and gain emplyoment after thier NS.
Not everyone who did NS was a good person nor was everyone a bad person. Every man between the ages of 18 and 40 had to do it, with some exceptions i.e. those in reserved occupations such as ploice, Drs, Nurses and miners to name but a few.
NS could be good for this country if it was properly organised.
Paul

I often think, Devon Dweller, that the conscientious in my generation can't do anything right.

The government wants more people to go into higher education. If you get a job straight from school (and this is assuming you've passed your "dumbed down" exams and read the newspaper headlines about some commentator saying, "An A Level isn't worth what it was worth in our day) you might get a half-decent one. If you fail your exams, you'll probably end up stacking shelves on 10p more per hour than the minimium wage.

Then you get to university - pick a course like Sociology or Art (I did Art) and "it isn't a proper degree". You graduate with a degree that "isn't worth the paper it's written on" and then you might not be able to get a job, because all the graduate jobs wants someone "with experience in the industry". I knew a lot of people who finished uni, went back to stacking shelves to tide them over and ended up staying for a year or more while they tried to get another job.

And - going back to school - if you are a good kid, sitting there quietly, you have to watch some smart-alec in your form doing their best to wind up your teacher. They get more attention from the teacher for behaving badly than you do for keeping your head down and getting on with your work. So what does that teach you - that causing a disruption gets you attention but doing your work doesn't.

It always is though.....whenever bad teenagers are highlighted on the tv someone somewhere shouts bring back national service.

Ah but Devon, it isn't about 'sorting kids out', at least it should'nt be.. It never was.. two years out of a young persons life to help teach and train them isn't really going to do them any harm. And if the Powers That Be, came up with the idea that these young men/women would NOT be combatant, then no real probs.... John

Im also baffled by this NS suggestion...it implies that all young people need sorting out and they dont. The media only ever highlights the bad ones and there are plenty of good ones out there.
For the ones who are going off the rails I think it would be far better to set up boot camp type things (asbo's are a total waste of time) rather than them ending up in our already overcrowded prison systems.
I certainly dont think ALL young people should be blamed.

pablo, you've done it again - I've just sided with you on your other thread (Kids), and now National Service.... NOTHING WRONG with it.. Did 12 years in the 'Andrew' (RN), had many national service ratings, they didn't seem to mind, many quite enjoyed it, and some, even JOINED the RN... Mind you I can't speak for the Army !! In those days it was all shouting, not quite as bad these days. You know, PC, Human Rights etc.... John

My husband did his national service and was could have been one of the MPs that went looking for Lancashire Lass' dad LOL
He went in as a quiet reserved lad and came out as a capable adult Having learned lots of new skills including driving ,which he wouldn't have done in civvy street because he wasn't well off enough to have a car

Isn't that you in the insurance advert Mick ?thought you were STILL a girlie he he.
Know what you mean though,done properly ,national service would remove a lot of kids from the streets,give them a proper trade to come out with,and ,as you said ,Mick,,men would come out at the end of their time.
The forces now need extra men and women,so how about it Mr Brown?.
Did me the world of good,and i saw the world for free.Fred.

Good point from Lancs Lass, there on page 1. I am 23 so I do consider myself part of the "younger generation" but I am constantly baffled by the suggestion that National Service is what we need to "sort us out". Because it usually follows assertions that young people are not responsible/don't know how to behave/break the law or whatever else and that National Service would be a good way to get us to behave. But what about the good kids?

I worked my socks off at school, at college and when I did my pre-degree art course I swear I did more work in those ten months than I'd done in my life. At sixth form, I spent two terms helping a local primary school out when I had my free afternoon on Wednesdays. Since university, I have been setting myself up as a freelance photographer and artist. I seem to have done a relentless round of asking local shops if they will display my business cards, showing uni projects to promote the local area to the council to see if they're interested and doing what I can to make money. I have been to craft fairs - some profitable, others I didn't even make back the cost of the stall.

I'm nowhere close to overdrawn yet as I'm living on my savings and funding the business out of it but I am adamant that I will not get a credit card, I will not take out a bank loan and I will not go anywhere remotely close to being overdrawn. It isn't easy - in fact those three things would probably make establishing myself much simpler - I am determined I will manage on the money I've got.

Public service sounds good but very hard to manage.

Large area, not enough supervisors to stop them disappearing, no insentive eg a job at the end.

My husband went on a YTS when leaving school and never found a job afterwards because the skills he learnt were not enough. He ended up being a on site labourer going from job to job with no skills. Said he'd wished he'd gone to college to get a trade

Nice one there Ann,
We could have something here, but dont tell the Government coz they will only cock it up like they do with everything else.
Paul

sounds good to me - work in a children's home, with people with learning disabilities or physical disabilities, working with the deaf or the blind, even working with animals would be good

How about everybody having to do some sort of public service after leaving school/college etc it doesn't have to be military service.
What do you think??

Joan lol,

You may have talked me around!!

6 week cruise- is it compulsary?

Saying that ,I would miss mine, and I have already taught them how to wash, iron and cook.

Not that they do much at the mo!