Argumentative Essay Example: Military Enlistment Should Be Mandatory After High School

Have you ever seen a documentary about the military fighting in wars? The military drafts people along with others already enlisted to fight for their country. Some people (including myself) believe they should make going to the military mandatory after students graduate from high school. Military enlistment should be mandatory after high school due to the fact it brings people together, gives education and skills, and helps the nation. 

First and foremost, being in the military can bring people together. People around the world are discriminated against for their race, culture, etc. When fighting for your life in the war you learn to stick with your team no matter their characteristics. “Dan Glickman, JD, former US Representative (D-KS), stated that mandatory service would be a solution to our “current dysfunction” because “National service, be it in the military, Peace Corps, or other public or private sector opportunities, breaks down the barriers of race, class, income, geography, and even language.”(Source 1). If you know the world we live in you know that know in days people are discriminated against for any little different thing. I once saw a news broadcast explaining the events that had occurred in a local grocery store; a man had been refused service because of his color. They also assumed he was a thief and was there to steal just because he was a different color than them. Outrageous isn't it? On the other hand, mandating military enlistment cod be a form of taking away our natural rights. John Locke created the idea of natural rights so everyone could be equal and have protection. The Declaration of Independence also states: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” Forcing people to be in the military is taking away their freedom. “No. It would likely be taken as an infringement of individual rights.”(Source 4). Our rights are something we fought hard and long for and that’s not something we want just taken away, is it? Even with this, the pros overturn the cons. Bringing unity to this country is something that is needed and has always been fought for. Making this mandatory could solve injustices!

To continue, enforcing military enlistment gives people education and real-life skills. Many students that have just graduated high school struggle to live in the real world; paying bills, finding a job, etc. These are basic life skills everyone needs and enlisting in the military could solve that. “It would allow young people to take time developing personally and maturing before entering the workforce or higher education.” (Source 2). This is something that colleges and other programs for high school graduates don't offer. These skills could help these graduates become more successful and live a smoother life. There was this documentary that was played in a class of mine about the military. You could see the grand difference between the people before and after they were in the military. After they had already left the military, they were much more mature and put together. There are still adults that struggle to live a happy and stable life because they lack these skills, making this mandatory could change it forever. On the contrary, this could be a burden to the military. Forcing hundreds and thousands of high school graduates across the U.S to enlist in the military would cause too many people to be in the same place at the same time. Even though it may sound helpful to have lots and lots of members it’s extremely hard to train all of them at once. “The number of participants, and the quality of participants, was causing problems for the military who could not deal with national service.”(Source 2).  The military is what keeps us safe from international conflicts. If they are overwhelmed with having to train so many members they may be caught off guard with our safety at risk. I have seen videos of other countries getting destroyed by armed forces due to their low military action and  I strongly believe that that could happen if we make this mandatory. Besides that fact, the life skills that could be taught with this opportunity are endless. Several people’s lives could be turned around if we make a stand and mandate it. 

Last but not least, making this change could help the nation and its problems. It could even help this country's economy. Every country may have its issues but not all of them could be fixed. By mandating military to high school grads we could patch up and fix the problems we have. “Susan Rice, former United Nations ambassador, and national security adviser said she believes a mandatory national service program would help to heal some of the nation's fractures along racial and economic lines.”(Source 3). I once read an article about the economy and our nation’s problems and it got me thinking: Is there a way we could fix this? Well, now we can! This is a way to change everything, all our problems could be fixed like magic. People have been searching for a way to fix these issues for years and now we have a solution so let's use it! Despite this, the military could unfairly harm people. This correlates with our rights. In contrast, forcing these students to be enlisted in the military could unfairly harm innocent people. With all of the younger generations in the military, certain needs in communities can not be met. For example, babysitting, dog walking, some jobs, etc. Without these newly graduated people others can be harmed in several ways; what if a mother got an emergency call to work and she has nobody to take care of her young child? What would she do in that situation? “A period of mandatory service could be a hardship for families and communities that would lose their young people who are already performing service by contributing to the household income, babysitting for neighbors, or caring for sick relatives.”(Source 1). Why would we want to do this to our communities? Aren't we trying to improve our communities and societies? On another note, the benefits that come with mandating military enlistment are out of this world. The new opportunities and life lessons that could be learned are incredible! When you see veterans who have already been in the army you see how put together they are and how polite and well-rounded they are. This is because of the training and attributes they were taught willist in the military. 

In summary, military enlistment should be mandatory after high school due to the fact it brings people together, gives education and skills, and helps the nation. We should find a way to enforce this in our states to help our nation rise to its full potential. With this, we could have so many people with amazing qualities they got from being in the military. So what do you say? Let’s go to the military!