Serving in the Military Benefits Young Men - Con

Korea, like many other countries around the world, forces all its young men to sacrifice nearly two years of their young adult lives in grueling labor and training to prepare them to fight in combat. This is referred to as military service. Everyone agrees that a strong military is important for a country. However, in today’s world, it is clear that a compulsory military service does more harm than good. Young men should no longer be forced to perform military service for the following reasons.

First, military service is a waste of valuable time in the lives of young men. Instead of studying or making a living, they must expend their energy learning combat skills. These include firing a rifle, attacking an enemy, and other military skills that are useless for their future. In some cases, some men must even put successful careers on hold while they perform their military duties. Even marriage must be postponed. If military service did not exist, these men would be able to contribute to the country in more productive ways.

What’s worse, military service can harm young men psychologically by exposing them to traumatic experiences. These experiences can be shameful and embarrassing. Often, new soldiers are hazed. They are treated cruelly by higher ranking officers, and are taunted and ridiculed. In some cases, they are physically beaten. The punishments are severe. Many young men can handle this type of treatment. However, some are scarred for life.

Because of this type of atmosphere, young men do not develop into well rounded people. They are trained to blindly follow the commands given to them. They do not think for themselves and are discouraged from asking why they must perform an action. They cannot offer their ideas on ways to do something better. Military service creates men who lack the ability to think critically, an essential skill in the modern world.

Although every country must do all it can to defend itself in the case of war, it is obvious that military service is not beneficial for every young man. It should, therefore, be a choice. Instead of making military service mandatory for all male citizens, it should be made an option for those who truly choose and desire to perform it. 

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