(Planet Me)
Monday, September 09, 2013
 
"If You Tolerate This, Then Your Children Will Be Next."

I have written to my MP in regards to the following proposed bill, which is that of imposing National Service to all humans in England and Wales between 18 and 26. BILL HERE aka the "National Service Act 2013" . Please note you can Find Your MP Here. Please write to them. Your children will thank you.

Text below. Feel free to copy and use.

First and foremost I write to express my extreme displeasure at the thought of the children to whom I am the father (or any person) being forced against their will to participate in any mandatory activity defined and mandated by any government : this is, in effect, in my eyes, a form of slavery.

I also note that only those of severe physical of mental impairment are exempt - please clarify how this may be classified. If ATOS are involved, I am sure you can imagine the controversy and bad press this will generate.

Also can you clarify what the intended penalties are for any such non compliance which are unclear in the proposal?

Also, the following :

- How will the imposition of this bill impact upon citizens, in terms of further education (for example, medical students for whom the minimum age of qualification at full level may be over the age limit)?

- In terms of how this will affect unemployment benefits and classification thereof?

- How citizens compelled by law to sacrifice one year of their life are to be compensated?

- What training they will receive?

- Where and how they will be housed, and compensated for their involuntary servitude : bearing in mind the proposal is for minimum wage, the result is that subjects will be financially disadvantaged if earning more and their career opportunities compromised by being unavailable? How will this be compensated?

- What exemptions (if any) are taken for those who are parents and have sole or majority childcare responsibilities?

- How those who are homeless or otherwise non-domiciled are classified?

- Those who are not resident in the UK for the period - though of British birth?

- Those who are resident but not of British birth are classified?

- Those who are Conscientious objectors, whose religion, beliefs, or other ethical structure forbid them for serving in the military?

- How the extension of this law to England and Wales is practically enforceable? For example, are people simply going to cross the border to have births in Scotland to avoid? What about persons moving from England/Wales to Scotland, and vice versa? At what point do these persons become ineligable for involuntary service?

- Those for whom the concept of involuntary servitude is unacceptable : to what punishment will they be subjected?

- The degree of agency and self-determination in choosing roles open to those conscripted against their will?

- Those for whom military service is regarded as a a breach of Article 18 of both the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)?

- If those who refuse to serve this bill are subject to military laws and punishments, or civil offences ?

- That failure to participate will result in unjust and discriminatory financial punishment in effect of 10% of their taxable income for the rest of their working lives, or at least four years salary (less the minimum taxfree allowance) in practical terms if working from 25-65? How will this be enforced? How can this be justified?

Where inside this bill is the respect for the concepts of respect for others that it proposes to enshrine? This bill is a clear statement of ownership over the bodies of the young by refusing, under threat of potentially harsh punishment, the right to self-determination and agency.

I trust you will understand my position that not only that this bill is poorly conceived, ill-considered, impractial and expensive, that it also potentially breaches the human rights to which the population of this country are subject. In addition, removing one year of the population from the workforce is counter productive to the concept and values of self-determination and self-realisation. On a personal level, I find it unacceptable and a breach of human rights for any bill to suggest that my children be conscripted against their - and my - will to serve in the military. On a final note, this bill will be extremely unpopular to any family with any children under the age of 26, and will result in a tediously large (and expensive) number of court cases challenging the law should it be given Royal Assent. It is a vote-loser, as well as practically extremely expensive and unworkable.

I hope you will be able to provide answers to the points raised above. I also beg you not to support this proposal on both moral and practical grounds.


Comments:
Hello Mark, reasonably long time lurker via swisslet. Having clicked the link I must confess I think it's an interesting idea. The phrase National Service has very specific connotations in the UK (teenage conscripts machine gunning Malayan villagers mainly), and I suspect that Phillip Hollobone probably has something of a 1950s nature in mind. But it's plainly stated in the bill that service of a military nature will be optional, which leaves many of the questions looking a bit hysterical. The stuff about involuntary servitude and conscription against their will - in effect the government is seeking to make post 16 education compulsory, and with something that looks like it'd cover quite a few of the points you raised in your last post, I'd have thought.
 
It's appallingly thought through - primarily it lacks detail, and lacking detail is one of the key problems this government has, lots of fancy ideas, lacking any real-world consideration as to how this will actually work in the real world. There's a world of difference between wanting the schooling to teach people practical real world skills, and forcing them to perform a years service against their will. There's no indication in here than anyone who might, for example, object to military service, ACTUALLY be able to refuse and do something else.
 
The bit under 2 (2) (b) looks to me as though it gives people a choice as to whether they want to do military service or something else, such as caring for the elderly. That bit's very specific. The main thrust of the arguments against this seems to be that the government is proposing some kind of killbot factory whereas I think the reality for a lot of confused and aimless young people is that, instead of either getting shit jobs in retail outlets or sitting around on their arses, they might actually end up doing something worthwhile and useful.
 
until fairly recently, French national service gave you the choice of 1 year in the military or two years in a civil service type job (e.g. teaching in a former french colony or somesuch). One of C's friend got an awful lot out of spending his 2 years teaching French in Morocco. C's brother and his friends, on the other hand, spend a lot of time and energy trying to fail their military medicals, but to fail them in a way that wouldn't debar them from civil service type jobs in the future (which apparently the cunning bastards do if you're too unsubtle).
Homosexual tendencies and bedwetting did the trick, apparently. The bedwetting especially was a brilliant ruse. Gone are the days when you could stick your underpants on your head, two pencils up your nose and say "wibble".
Good points both. I fear the incompetence of this government and would hate to be in this position myself.... but there's a lot to be said for this sort of an option for some people who would almost certainly benefit from a bit of structure, purpose and direction. Quite how you put that together and get the right people, I don't know. I doubt this lot have got the brains, for starters.
 
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