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Not to the glory of humanity, since time immemorial the actual value of communities has been formed by the number of military capable people they are able to generate. At least to my chagrin, little will change in the coming centuries - our “one world” will continue to be a utopia.
The ability of the individual to defend himself requires physical, mental and character suitability as well as the willingness to kill for the community as well as to be killed himself. The actual fighting power of a community results from the integration of the able-bodied into the respective community and their support from the same.
Over the millennia, other community services have developed, namely the service to maintain peace and order, emergency services, as well as healing, nursing and care services, which in my opinion can be equated with military service in their everyday importance for the community.
Each community must recruit enough members for all of these services in order to be able to ideally select the best, because this is essential for a functioning community life and decisive in the event of a military conflict.
Communities can ensure their respective services by appealing to their members to provide them voluntarily (e.g. federal voluntary service). If this is not enough, professionalize individual or all services (e.g. police) or also make their members compulsory (e.g. military service).
It is characteristic of every community whether and how it can ensure its community services and, above all, whether it succeeds in achieving a selection of the best.
Originally, members of all communities earned merit by providing service to the community, doing so voluntarily and in a way that was profitable for the community.
In the meantime, it seems to be more the case that service for the community has become a profession, that compulsory service is neither contemporary nor accepted by the community, and that voluntary work has achieved exotic status.
What is striking here in Germany is that the now professional servants - in all services - are not only poorly supported and therefore a selection of the best is no longer possible, but their service to the community is no longer perceived as "merit". Worse, contributing to the community is seen as a flaw.
it would be right
- to increase the subsistence allowance, whether carer or military, so that the community has at all times sufficient and best qualified professional servants available;
- to promote voluntary service to the community in such a way that it is again generally regarded as merit.
it is wrong
- to remedy the apparent lack of official duties by forcing those who cannot or will not evade official duty into duties which they often cannot meet nor for which they are subsequently adequately appreciated by the community.
And it's completely impossible
- that members of a community who, on the one hand, have evaded compulsory service themselves and, on the other hand, have never voluntarily performed any service, want to force others into compulsory service!
As I said, every community is characterized and will also be seen as such by others as it organizes and ensures its community services. And those communities that cannot secure them will eventually dissolve into common goodwill.
"And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address
My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."
