You’re trivializing authoritarianism by focusing on the US. Focus on Iran or Russia instead, then you’d have yourself a fun time.

  • 3volver@lemmy.worldOP
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    2 months ago

    No it’s not. Russia has a conscription forcing young people to die fighting against Ukraine. The US does not have such a thing. Russia is an authoritarian fascist dictatorship which is rapidly becoming a terrorist state because of their fear of Ukraine joining NATO.

    As of 2021, all male citizens aged 18–27 are subject to conscription for 1 year of active duty military service in the armed forces, but the precise number of conscripts for each of the recruitment campaigns, which are usually held twice annually, is prescribed by particular Presidential Decree.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Russia#Russian_Federation

    • orcrist@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      It’s true that the US doesn’t have the draft, but it does have horrible situations where many young people see an obvious path to economic stability, and that’s joining the military. Maybe the military is their only clear way out of poverty. And predictably, as has been the case for decades, recruiting sergeants will lie about what these young men and women are going to be asked to do. But once they sign the papers, it’s too late. And years later, when they leave the service, they’ll be stuck trying to get medical care from the VA. Sometimes that works, but there are countless horror stories out there.