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American Friends Service Committee — Part 27
Page 24
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12. ISN'T CONSCRIPTION NECESSARY FOR
NATIONAL SECUKITY?
The assumption that national security can be found
ip national armed force is totally falze. National armed
force gives not sccurily, but a gamliter’s hope of victory.
Security requires more; it requires the prevention of war,
War cannot be prevented by armed foree, because each
stcp & nation lakes to increase its own security thereby
decreases the security of its neighbors. Security itself
L policy 5
willing to fight tor itthan for any other singlé objective.
So a systent in which cach step to increase one’s security
threatens that of his neighbor is a system which makes
security impossible and war inevitable. Security cannot
be attained through national military power; it can be
attained only in world order.
Conscription as a permanent policy is hostile to world
order. World order requires world organization with
provision for peaceful setiiement of disputes, provision
for effective cooperation on common problems and for
orderly change of conditions which have become unsatis-
factory; it requires. as Secretary Cordell Hull put it
(March 21, 1944) “adjustment of armaments in such a
way that the rule of law cannot be successfully chal-
lenged.”
Conscription may be so regulated, as in the case of a
small country Jike Switzerland, that the country does not
thereby become a threat to the rest of the world. But
cneral policy does not give security;
st security because it tends to em-
Conscription as a
its tendency is agai
phasize reli
ance on armed power instead of emphasizing
5 +.
One of the main tasks of such a world organization
would be to reduce and limit national armaments. Uniess
1127
it succeeds in doing so, an international police wo
have little chance of being effective. No imaginable in
national police could restrain Kussia now, or even
United States. With reduction and limitation of art
ments, the number of men in armed forees would be
duced so much that there should be little difficulty
obtaining sufficient volunteers if the world should dec
to maintain for a time an international police compo
of military units. In any casc, there is a certain re’
tance about conscripting men to serve outside iheir co
try under another authority than the government of #)
own country. It is important not to over-estimate
value of coercion in maintaining order in any connmun
including the community of nations.
14, WOULDN'T CONSCRIPTION ENHAN
OUR SPIRITUAL STRENCT
OUR SPMITUAL STRENGTIT AS
NATION?
Patriotism is a virtue; a ecnse of duty to sevve
community should be developed in every citizen. }
can a young man get such an altitude better the: in
experience of giving a year of service, with others of
own age from all kinds and conditions of men?
It sometiines happens that virtue practiced ur
compulsion ceases to be virtue, When an irate alun
told Dr. Jowett, of Balliol College, that compulsory
tendance at chapel must be continued because the ch
Tay between compulsory religion and no relicion,
mind to apprehend.” It may be asked whether’ ¢
pulsory patriolism is not in danger of breaking d
into wnipatriotism.
to be illusory. A conscription sysiem with cont
liability for reserve service gives government exee-
power over individuals, Twice, for example, Fr
ernments disposed of railroad strikes by mobilizi
strikers. A sense of sus}
than a sense of national unity.
is more likely to des
(13?
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