[derevaunseraun]

> And all this in the 70s.

It was just as bad before this

With WWI, how did the european powers manage to convince their civilians to go die in the trenches fighting a meaningless war? Or Vietnam in the US

The saying "if everyone jumped off the bridge..." is funny, because people will say it and forget what it means the moment everyone around them starts jumping off the bridge

[MomoXenosaga]

Nowadays we just send out the poor and desperate. I've always felt conscription was better. How many military interventions would the Pentagon be allowed to sign off on if Wallstreet bankers had to serve in the front lines? Can you imagine the SHIT STORM about burn pits if it involved a billionaire's son...

In ancient Rome everyone in the elite had to serve a few years as an officer in a legion.

[danielvf]

There's a common misconception that the US volunteer military is only poor people.

Surprisingly enough, the top US income quartile enlists at a higher rate than the bottom income quartile. There's a big list of things that disqualify recruits, not having basic literacy, no recent prison time, no high school dropouts, obesity standards, mental health standards, no marijuanas use, no children...

[hippich]

Afaik, in times of ancient Rome men who gave orders to fight were standing in front of the people they gave orders to, not in some remote office or bunker.

As for wall Street and conscription - they would find a way to get their sons out of this trouble I am sure.

[jlangenauer]

In most countries, they simply conscripted them. There was no "convincing". Australia is one of the exceptions, although certainly not because the government didn't want conscription.

[derevaunseraun]

> In most countries, they simply conscripted them. There was no "convincing"

But who conscripted them and dragged them off to war? Was it the politicians who decided to go to war? The "convincing" isn't necessary once it's reached critical mass

[rswail]

We didn't have conscription in WW1, but we did in WW2 and then "National Service" in the 50s. In the 60s there was a draft that had a "ball draw" every month with the date (a ball numbered from 1-28/30/31) and if you turned 18 on that date of the month, you were drafted.

There were exemptions but it still seems a cruel form of gambling in a way.

[opo]

>We didn't have conscription in WW1, ...

There was a military draft in WW I:

>...By the end of World War I, some two million men volunteered for various branches of the armed services, and some 2.8 million had been drafted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Service_Act_of_1917

[smackeyacky]

"Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile"

"It's a long way to tipperary"

Different medium, same outcome. Also a lot of yellow journalism.

[qsdf38100]

It’s not meaningless when the stakes are being invaded, and then oppressed, deported or killed.