Anna Lee: Military Service

Taiwan (the Republic of China) has had mandatory military service for all males since 1949. Because voluntary enlistment has reached sufficient numbers in recent years, the compulsory service period for draftees was shortened from twenty-four months to fourteen months in 2007. Some Taiwanese believes that military service can train a boy to be a man, which means he will have the traits of responsibility, caring, and courage after the service. However, there are two reasons which make me believe that military service should not be required as a way to develop good citizens.

First al all, I think that education makes a good citizen rather than a military service. A good citizen in different countries has different meanings. In Taiwan, it means that one should be a good neighbor by caring about others, sharing time and skills with the community to make it better, cleaner and safer, conserving resources by practicing the three R’s: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, and staying informed on issues and voicing one’s opinions by voting. We learn from family when we are little. Parents should serve as positive role-models to teach their children by showing their concern to others, making the community better, and obeying certain rules. Later, we learn from schools on how to be a good citizen. Teachers instill in us the virtue of good citizenship through diverse classes teaching activities. By the time a person goes to military service, he already has his own beliefs and values; it is not easy to change a person’s behavior by a fourteen -month military service.

Secondly, Military service doesn’t always stand for good. A military is like a small world filled with a variety of people, good and bad. Abusing recruits is commonly heard. Sometimes, the drill instructor or old soldiers would cruelly maltreat the recruit and assault him. Therefore, military service is not a good place to learn to be a good citizen. Besides, the purpose of military service is to defend the nation, so its training program is directed for that purpose. Soldiers are trained to be good warriors. They learn how to use machine-gun, how to kill an enemy, and how to camouflage. A well-known kidnapping case happened several years ago in Taiwan. The kidnapper was well trained during his service in the military. The policemen took extreme efforts to capture him because he was an experienced fugitive. He knew how to escape without leaving a trace behind. He even killed a physician because he asked the physician to do a plastic surgery on his face. His behavior was far away from a good citizen.

In conclusion, military service is needed to protect the nation from attack by other nations. Its main purpose is to train soldiers to fight for their country, not to be humble and polite citizens. Therefore, I believe that it is not necessary for someone, man or woman, to be a good citizen through military service.