Racial Profiling and Its Impact on Modern Society
- 760 words
Introduction
Military services are important since they guarantee the nation’s borders and citizens’ protection. Due to the advantages associated with military duty, academicians have argued that compulsory military should be part of General Educational Development (GED). However, some scholars have contradicting opinions on compulsory military involvement as a segment of GED. In this respect, the pros of obligatory military service are that it promotes national unity and helps individuals acquire essential skills and qualities that are helpful in their lives, although it has a con associated with violating people’s freedom of choice.
Promoting National Unity
Compulsory military service promotes national unity by creating shared experiences through training and working together. Military involvement aids in shaping and strengthening social and personal identities.1 In this case, the military strives to break down language, geography, income, class, and race barriers. Compulsory military training allows youths to interact with peers nationwide regardless of their background since it is part of GED. As trainees interact in training, they are taught what it means to be in the military, what is needed for the job, and what they must do to protect the nation. Besides, through training, citizens appreciate and understand the sacrifices the military personnel make for their country. Therefore, compulsory military plays an essential role in bringing the country’s people together.
1. Jorge A. Gonzalez and Joseph Simpson, “The Workplace Integration of Veterans: Applying Diversity and Fit Perspectives,” Human Resource Management Review 31, no. 2 (2021): 6, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2020.100775.
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Acquisition of Useful Skills
Compulsory military is advantageous since individuals can acquire diversified skills beyond technical skills. The military includes life skills education to enhance resilience, psychological and physical health, and performance.2 Besides the technical skills required to protect a nation, military trainees acquire soft skills that are useful throughout their lives. Life skills education is believed to strengthen confidence, increase positive and effective relationships, prevent violence, reduce drug abuse, and ascend stress-coping skills among Iranian soldiers.3 The military aids individuals to develop acceptable traits as they acquire discipline, which is essential in ensuring people succeed in all aspects of their lives. Besides, intensive military ensures that individuals get out of their comfort zones and develop beneficial character. Therefore, including mandatory military involvement as a segment of GED is beneficial because it ensures citizens acquire suitable skills that guarantee their success in life.
2. Seyyed-Javad Hosseini-Shokouh, Parviz Dabaghi, and Sadegh Rahimi, “Life Lessons in Military Services: Investigating the Influence of a Training Program on the Military Personnel’s Life Skills Development,” Postmodern Openings/Deschideri Postmoderne 9, no. 2 (2018): 255, http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/po/31.
3. Hosseini-Shokouh, Dabaghi, and Rahimi, “Life Lessons,” 255.
Violates Freedom of Choice
However, compulsory military service infringes on people’s right to choose what they want. Although individuals are expected to conform to rigid social governing rules, society assumes they should be responsible for their outcomes.4 In this case, freedom is essential and valuable to the general public since people can engage in activities of their interest as long as they do not infringe on other persons’ rights. Compulsory military will influence those unwilling to serve as soldiers to join the force, which might affect their lives negatively. In this context, mandatory military will waste time for those who join unwillingly. Besides, forcing individuals into being soldiers will influence some people to be unmotivated when serving the nation affecting the quality of the services they provide. Therefore, having compulsory military as part of GED is disadvantageous since it forces even those unwilling to join, denying them their freedom of choice.
4. Emilie A. Caspar et al., “The Effect of Military Training on the Sense of Agency and Outcome Processing,” Nature Communications 11, no. 1 (2020): 2, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18152-x.
Conclusion
Although compulsory military service is believed to deny citizens freedom of choice, it is advantageous since it ensures people acquire essential skills for their success and enhance national unity. Training military programs ensure people have a shared experience bringing them together. Moreover, compulsory military ensures that people attain hard and soft skills, guaranteeing success. On the other hand, some individuals are not willing to serve as soldiers, which may undermine the benefits of such practice.
Bibliography
Caspar, Emilie A., Salvatore Lo Bue, Pedro A. Magalhães De Saldanha da Gama, Patrick Haggard, and Axel Cleeremans. “The Effect of Military Training on the Sense of Agency and Outcome Processing.” Nature Communications 11, no. 1 (2020): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18152-x.
Gonzalez, Jorge A., and Joseph Simpson. “The Workplace Integration of Veterans: Applying Diversity and Fit Perspectives.” Human Resource Management Review 31, no. 2 (2021): 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2020.100775.
Hosseini-Shokouh, Seyyed-Javad, Parviz Dabaghi, and Sadegh Rahimi. “Life Lessons in Military Services: Investigating the Influence of a Training Program on the Military Personnel’s Life Skills Development.” Postmodern Openings/Deschideri Postmoderne 9, no. 2 (2018): 254-268. http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/po/31.
