Paper Ideas

Jaylie

Hey! So I have to write a brief argument both in opposition to and in favor of the following statement: "Every able bodied male citizen of the United States should receive military training and serve one year of before attaining age 24." So far, I've just got the obvious arguments...In favor of, I have Americans are fat and lazy and need the discipline in order to be a prosperous nation. In opposition to, I have that we are a free country and that we shouldn't be forced into military service, even if it's just for a year.

Any other ideas?

duck_girl

Hi, Jay!

I agree, no one should be forced to do military service, and men are getting to fat and lazy, (along w/ women!).
Lets see..
I think that no man with a family to raise should be expected to go away for a year and leave behind his wife (and kids, if so). I also think that that kind of disaplin might produce better leaders in our country.
good luck!

Jaylie

Thanks for the ideas!

Okay, here's what I have so far for the in favor of brief. I think it's too long, so I'm trying to shorten it. I also need to make a better closing. I just tapped it out a few minutes ago, so it's obviously not perfect, lol.

The United States of America: Once a chivalrous country, with many men fighting to the death for what they believed was right. We are all very proud of our heritage, yet we are not living up to the same expectations our forefathers once established. We lack discipline, and many young men end up in the gutter, simply because they are unwilling to work. Others inherit money and then selfishly use it to their own pleasure, not having the knowledge or upbringing to use their resources wisely.
However, we are not a completely hopeless case. Our future generations need to have discipline, because obviously what we are currently doing is not working. What form should this discipline come in? Required military training and service. It is a commonly known fact that those in the military have more order in their lives than others. If we can have mandatory military training and one year of service for every able bodied male under the age of 24, our economy would make a dramatic change for the good. Studies have shown that it takes 21 days to form a habit. This is all the training young men would require before becoming more responsible. It would give men the start they need to live a purposeful life, inspire them to make something of themselves, and give them a proper work ethic.

Shalva

wow you make alot of statements in there that you havent backed up with anything but your opinion.....

I am assuming you have studies (not internet sites) but actually studies to back all of this up....

Is it commonly known that those in the military have more order???? is that true???? compared to the guy who is working 15 hours a day at a high stress job???

and why not include Women in that.... look at countries like Israel that have mandatory service for everyone.... men and women included....

The United States of America: Once a chivalrous country, with many men fighting to the death for what they believed was right. We are all very proud of our heritage, yet we are not living up to the same expectations our forefathers once established. We lack discipline, and many young men end up in the gutter, simply because they are unwilling to work. Others inherit money and then selfishly use it to their own pleasure, not having the knowledge or upbringing to use their resources wisely.

This paragraph is full of problems..... first statements like "We are ALL proud...." is a sweeping generalization..... be careful of that because I doubt we are ALL proud......

Do we know what the expectations of our forefathers was???? be able to back that up....

What is discipline??? and how do you know that we lack it????

You go on to say that many young men end up in the gutter..... well how do you know this??? what are you using to determine what the gutter is??? and how do you know it is because they are unwilling to work??? what is the evidence of that.... as compared to an assortment of other things that might cause them to be in the gutter such as poor parenting etc.

maybe its the teacher in me... but I am seeing this first couple paragraphs as having lots of things you need to clarify.....

my two cents as always
s

duck_girl

Be nice, Shalva, I know what you're talking about, and I see where you are coming from, and I agree wit some of it, and I understand that it is priority to make sure the statements are true, but be nice.
What are you in shcool, jaylie, (ei. freshman)?
I think it is good. I mean, most (if you want to disagree about 'all') of what you wrote is mostly true, in my opinian. But let's not get into political debates here.

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Shalva

actually I dont see a political debate anywhere.... my opinion about the actual content of the paper is not there at all.....

I also don't see anywhere that I was not being nice....

there are questions that need to be answered about some of the statements made if the OP wants a good grade....

I am a University Professor and these are the questions that I would ask if I read that paragraph....

S

cshellenberger

Shalva's right, the paper is fluff with no support for the ideas and arguments.

First, do research into WHAT is involved in military service, I can give you a quick hint, 1 year is not enough to even properly TRAIN someone for the battlefield in the very technical armed forces of today. It would basically be a waste of taxpayers money to sign up, outfit and train a person for one years service.

Also, todays military needs recruits who are willing to put their lives on the line, those forced into service are NOT going to be as willing to fight as volunteers.

Also many people do not join the service due to religious convictions and teachings, it would be wrong ot force them to go against their beliefs and against everything our country stands for.

Some people are not mentally stable enough to handle the responsibility.

That should be a good start onthe 'against' side anyhow, sorry I can't give you good arguments FOR. Remembertheseare jsut bullet points, I'll leave it to you to RESEARCH why they are valid and support each one.

Jaylie

Thanks for the great ideas!

As far as research goes...They actually DON'T want me to do research. They just want it as short as possible to see if I can present a convincing argument without bringing research into the picture. This is for a mock trial audition, and it's just to see what part I should have. We're also answering/asking questions from a witness statement. I'm trying to make attorney though, so this isn't real important for me. (If I did REALLY well in this, they'd probably cast me as the pre-trial attorney, which I DON'T want under any circumstances, haha.)

I know it's full of fluff, but it's already too long. How can I add sources (which they don't want) without making it even longer?

Also, as I said, I just typed this out in five minutes. I'm not anywhere near done with it, so don't think I'm lazy or anything. That's just the general frame.

Duck_Girl: I'm a freshman.

cshellenberger

Glad to help I just believe that an all volunteer miliary is the best way. It's what makes our fighting force among the best in the world.

harrise

¿So the object is to present the topic from two angles regardless of substance? Sounds political to me...

Jaylie

Ya, I agree with you. If it came to that, I would definately vote against. Which is probably why I wrote the "in favor of" first...Wanted to get it over with.

Seriously! Haha, the reason they do this is because a lot of times you get put on the side you don't agree with, but you have to argue well anyway. This last year I was put on prosecution, and I still think the guy was not guilty. But oh well.

emily445455

I'm not proud of my heritage...at least not my ancestors that lived in America...(not sure any did...) But anyways, the early Americans lied, cheated, stole, broke promises.....I am definitly NOT proud of that!

In response to the OP, I think military service should be voluntary.

Shalva

exactly my point....

if I see any statements in papers that say all or most or speak in sweeping statements I immediately circle them with a big red pen.....

s

Esther

On the one hand I mostly believe in freedom of choice, also for military service. However, a risc with freedom of choice may be that the military service can go on to recruitement strategies, and the freedom of choice may not be equal to everybody. Young people with less chances and less education may be recruited more than others, when it's the only chance they have (or see) to participate in society. On the other hand if a nation wants a military service, which is choosen democratically (in theory, I don't believe in the existence of true democracy) then it may be logical for every one to participate in this military service since everyone benefits (or detriments (is this a word?)) from it. But then that should go for both man and women.
Just two points that come into my mind. There's off course a lot more to say about it, but it takes me about ten times longer to write this in English then in Dutch, and I don't exactly know how to translate, so I'll stop now...

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