Just to come full circle, this is some of what I wrote, so ive no idea how the post got hijacked into sending teenagers to war, giving them guns, asking them to shoot kiddies in the back, soldiers and shooting civillians?
Is it time for some form of National Service in modern Britain?
Do we need a compulsory national service type "finishing school" for teenagers who need educating, guiding and moulding into shape by valued role models?
I wasnt thinking of national service in the 1950's sense of the word, but certainly some compulsary personal training to instill all the good qualities that seem to be lacking in majority of the youth of today.
The original topic was to ask if some form of national service was needed. As pointed out, this could be in the form of community service. Either way, the important basis should be to teach acceptable behavior, respect for self and others, responsibility, duty and to enable young people to have a better start in life.
It could be paid for by central government. the cost of arson, drugs, crime, lawlessness, etc is huge not to mention the cost in people terms to both offenders and victims alike.
In my experience as an employer, some young people are unemployable because they havent been shown how to behave responsibly, how to get up for work, how to stay focused on a full days work, how to conduct themselves at work.
Im sure this is a generation problem, maybe Thatcher is to blame, maybe it was her "greed" get rich quick culture thats made some youngsters now shy away from traditional work.
Dont you hear the reports from the CBI stating that even young people with degrees now days dont have the first clue how to communicate effectivly, how to time manage, how to behave in public? They have all the gear and no idea
Yes kids want jobs, but many arnt ready for work, and as Prince Charles controversially said, we cant all be celebs. Hes right, there arnt enough Posh and Becks type lifestyles out there, some of us HAVE to sweep the sreets, wipe the asses in old folks homes, wait tables etc. And thank God some good people do these less than glam jobs or were all in the shit and society breaks down
I worked in a project for 3 years in central London, employing youths and young adults. The majority were willing to get involved and had a reasonable grasp of their abilities and how to apply themselves. Apart from the odd bad apple.
The main problem is the lack of 'useful' things for them to do, or be allowed to do. Its sometimes simpler for older adults who have commitments and responsibilities to focus on their work and careers, because there is usually more than enough work for them.
There is an imbalance in who gets all the work. Young people always represent a risk and an expense. Some small firms could go bust with a handful of unskilled and inexperienced youths. So its understandable that they would be cautious in employing them. But they do need to be trained somewhere and somehow and made ready for the next stage in life.
The majortity do succeed in life, simply by getting older and by getting jobs which they would not have been considered for when younger.
Enforced training is effective for some, but probably not necessary for the majority as they go on to develop all the necessary requirements to be productive people, and can apply themselves when the opportunities arrive.
I think that the original National Service became unmanageable and used up the resources needed for the professional military, so it ground to a halt.
What's wrong with their parents bringing them up correctly in the first place? Why should the Armed forces, who have a difficult enough job as it is, be expected to 'fix' all these 'broken' kids?
Society is all to quick to palm the blame for it's short comings onto others - no fecker takes responsibilty for sod all these days.
I am an ex Royal Marine, and was invalided out with a war service pension for injuries I received on active service - I HAVE been to war, been in 'peace keeping' and 'internal security' duties, and let me tell you I'd be fucked if I'd want a bunch of individuals like those in the first post watching my back, or my oppos for that matter....
Agree with a lot of what you say, Jon, about the adults teaching the children how to behave in the first place.
A friend of mine is involved with a local Rainbow group, which for the un-initiated is "pre-school Brownies". Many of the children there dont want to be present but have been "dumped" so Mummy can go to the gym etc., a fact revealed when the Mums apologise for running late when failing to collect their children on time. Few of these children in my friends group go straight home after school, and if they aren`t at Rainbows they`re at ballet lessons or some other activity. Don`t get me wrong. Children do need to interact with each other and these activities are most valueable, however, when they are 4/5/6 year old, they also need their parental contact as well.
:rotflmao: :rotflmao: at subscription instead of conscription..........small things and small minds etc. 
ullupsandbagemot: :swinglanternemot: :rotflmao: :giggle: 
