If it was 1914, 1939, or some other time as yet unknown, and the call up letter dropped through your door that your country needed you, would you go? Are you that brave?

Personally, I don’t know if I could kill another man but yes, I’d feel it was my duty if I was needed.

fingers crossed i’d be asked to provide my services in a mental health type way…. dont think i could kill another human, dont even like playing computer games if it involves shooting something :S

Would depend on the cause.

Yes without hesitation

Wouldn’t volunteer but would accept conscription.

I quite fancy the bomb disposal team as there is less running around and being shot at, having said that, they probably wouldn’t want me.

no.

If it was 1914, 1939…

In those two wars then Yes – no question. I’d be terrified though, I would never describe myself as brave.

I was a pretty good shot in my younger years, and always fancied myself as a sniper!

In some of todays wars – no.

1939 yes, 1914 no.

Luckily we are no longer in age of throwing millions of soldiers against millions of soldiers.

Wouldn’t volunteer but would accept conscription.

Seconded

No, I’m not afraid of being a coward

I know someone who does high threat bomb disposal in Afganistan (previously Iraq, and NI). You do not want to do it.

It would depend on the cause. I would struggle to trust any current government that the cause was just unless there was some other more obvious evidence.

Unarmed medical corps yes. Hold a rifle no

Die for your country? I’m not so sure it just wasn’t dying for one group of elite to rule over us as opposed to another group of elite to rule over us.

Not too fussed about shooting someone -it’s the idea that they might shoot back that bothers me.

Way too old to be called up now but would go on the medic side if asked nicely.

Interesting question for a sunday morning, and hard to look objectively.

I come from a long line of conscientious objectors and reserved occupations.

But it’s not a position I’m likely to be put in, for two reasons:

1. being a girl.

2. why would anybody invade New Zealand ? Or Scotland ?

But yes if that were to happen I would most definitely offer to help in whatever way I could.

I would, but the ‘elite’ would have to lead from the front and not be nice and safe miles behind the lines.

The overwhelming majority would – conscription dodging was not a serious problem in the two world wars.

I wouldn’t have any problem volunteering to defend my country against a foreign aggressor. But if my country was the aggressor and/or was guilty of crimes to its own people, then I wouldn’t hesitate to fight against it – as the German anti-Nazi resistance and Italian partisans did. My class consciousness comes before all else.

Yes.

1939 I would go, 1914 to just be cannon fodder no way, as for today’s conflicts I don’t see why were there as its a pointless war based on lie’s and the reasons were there keep changing. We were meant to be there to combat terrorism, but only made it worse, now its for democracy??? Unless the UK was under immediate threat of attack then I would not answer the call.

Without hesitation during the two WW’s i would.

With only the knowledge that our freedom was under threat and it was fight/defend or lose that freedom..

Now and in the future, they’d need a bloody good reason to ‘need’ me.

Unless it’s for this.

thinking more and more…

i’d have to say that unless they could promise with 1 million percent certainty that i’d be saving lives and not taking lives… i’d do everything i could to avoid being called up.

In 1914, men signed up en masse due to extraordinary social dynamics causing overwhelming peer pressure, rather than the need to combat tyranny. In terms of right and wrong, there was very little difference between the protaganists with everyone fighting for the right to dominate imperial territories. I’d like to think that I’d have been able to avoid the hysteria and propaganda and not joined up but the social pressure to do so would have made it nigh on impossible and I think that the objectors were incredibly brave.

1939, I don’t think that there would have been any alternative given what we were faced with.

1 million percent certainty

Calm down mate it’s nothing as serious as the X factor!

ernie_lynch – i’m not really sure i buy your absolute conviction in the superior ideals of the allied forces in WWII – look to russia and their subsequent acts – isolationist and partitioning, they put a wall through berlin! it’s nice to say that the best side won after the war, cos ‘look at how great things are!’ but in my opinion there is no way to know for sure before a war that your ‘country’ (read: ruling elite as mentioned before) are really doing this to make things ‘better’. so for that, i’m out.

Se, it’s easy to sit behind a keyboard and say ‘yeah, I’d go’, but if you stop for a moment to consider the full horror of war as it was in those two conflicts, then it becomes a bit more difficult. It’s easy to sound brave and appear to be a righteous patriotic citizen, but if you were stuck in a freezing cold trench with your mates around you being blown to bits, and very little chance of survival, then I think you might have a different perspective.

On that basis, I can’t say ‘yeah, I’d go and fight for my country’, because there’s no way I’d want to be in such a situation, but I spose conscription makes things a lot more simple. You don’t have a choice.

I’m glad I live in a country where I won’t have to go to war. And I’m eternally grateful to, and have enormous respect for, those who had no choice, but fought so that I can sit here in the comfort of my home, typing out these thoughts. I don’t know if I could ever be as brave as those poor souls, and I don’t ever want to know.

Lest we forget.

I don’t know if I could ever be as brave as those poor souls, and I don’t ever want to know.

Lest we forget.

Amen to that.

It’s a bit of a difficult comparison really, asking people alive today would they go to war in 1914 or 1941 or today. Totally different eras and way of life.

I was under the impression (could be wrong) that for at least some period of time, many WW1 conscripts believed they were heading over to France for a turkey shoot and had no idea of the horror they faced until they got there. Which of course couldn’t happen today with the way the media is etc.

And of course being called up to fight Nazi’s and fascism is an awful lot different to being asked to fight morally ambiguous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I read Genertaion Kill recently (really good) and one of the themes it explores is whether Marines today in the US, as part of the MTV Generation could possibly be as ruthless and deadly as the US marines in WW2 in the Pacific. The author quoted a statistic whereby a surprising percentage of WW2 Marines deliberately shot to miss (I can’t remember the figure) whereas that was the very least of the problems with today’s generation of Marines, made for interesting reading.

+1 for Elf. Times are different now, we have more choice, and thanks to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, more freedom. I’d like to think I’d be brave enough, but who knows, until they’re put into that situation?

Elfinsafety – Member
Se, it’s easy to sit behind a keyboard and say ‘yeah, I’d go’, but if you stop for a moment to consider the full horror of war as it was in those two conflicts, then it becomes a bit more difficult. It’s easy to sound brave and appear to be a righteous patriotic citizen, but if you were stuck in a freezing cold trench with your mates around you being blown to bits, and very little chance of survival, then I think you might have a different perspective.

When did you go?

Yeah, I’d go.

In many ways those who did conscientiously object were actually braver. Especially in the First World War, with all the patriotic fervour that was flying around to stand and and say No must have been tremendously difficult.

Like Elf I dunno what I would have done. Wouldn’t have been keen on fighting for one cousin against another to see whose Empire was stronger. Mindless, needless carnage for nothing. Huzzah!

I’d like to think I’d have signed up for the International Brigade and gone to Spain in 1936 but no way of knowing…thankfully.

i agree with elfinsafety

I would do so if I had to. Wars are a terrible terrible thing and the death of ANY human being isn’t good. With any conflict those in charge will give reasons why they had to do it with endless counter arguements as to why it shouldn’t happen in the first place. Then there are reasons we will never understand why, never ever know the truth about and never ever put right if it was for the wrong reasons. When you watch the drama’s like “The Pacific” and see how brutal war can be, even if it’s “done for tv” they now put those involved, those who’s story it was written about and then you see just how it’s affected them, how they cry, how you see tears well up in their eyes at them thinking about fallen commrades and even about the enemy too – it’s deeply depply upsetting and not good. No war is good. End of.

Me too (agree with elfinsafety).

When did you go?

Yeah, I’d go.

I din’t say I did. I just made the point that being aware of the full horror of the reality of War in those two conflicts would almost definitely influence any hypothetical decision one might make.

I doubt the conscripts in WW1 had much idea about the reality that awaited them. I dare say there were strenuous efforts made to keep such information from them, as it would have been counter-productive to allow conscripts any inkling of the truth of what they were being sent into. As Duggan points out; today’s media constantly feeds us with all sorts of imagery and information that WW1 soldiers would have been oblivious to.

Had I been 18 or so in 1914-1918, I dare say that I may well have seen going off to fight for my country as a rite of passage; something to go off and enjoy with my mates. Many accounts from that time show that many young men felt this way, such was their naivety and ignorance of the reality of War. Back then, War was something that made you a man; there was no greater honour than to have risked everything in battle, in the name of your King and Country. This was of course a myth; the reality was that two opposing ideologies/powers needed men to fight for their respective causes. Regardless of the moral ins and outs, both sides needed to be able to stir up emotions and give people a sense of moral courage; you will fight to the death for what you believe is right. I’m sure the young German lads probbly felt the same.

I am glad that the World has changed, and that governments largely can’t send men to their deaths simply for economic or politically ideological reasons. I’m glad that we can sit back and disagree with the reasons for conflict, and choose not to fight.

And once again, I’m grateful to those that did, so that I don’t have to.

As I said, it’s easy to be brave from behind a keyboard.

Not a chance, I have two young daughters, my responsibility is to them.

+1 ernie.

I was sponsored by the MOD all the way through Uni.

I spent my summers working with various different groups of people all signed up. When it came to it I just couldn’t fight for what we live for now.

I couldn’t have led men who felt un-appreciated by society, I just couldn’t be involved in a system which expected these guys to give their lives for this country but took away everything that used to be considered a perk, I couldn’t lead them knowing that at the end of the day if the chips were down they would be left out in the cold by the politicians.

I have a huge amount of respect for those who signed up, I have friends serving in all 3 forces, but I am not a guy who will tow the line. The system is rotten from within (IMO) I have no time for policy makers, I have no time for the guys who are forcing efficiency savings onto our front line troops, or any of our front line services.

I think I did the right thing, but will always support those on the front line without question.

Yes. But I joined up at 16 so I would say that wouldn’t I .

I’m sorry but to say you live in a country that doesn’t have to go to war misses the point. What an ideal world if every singel human being thought so and we could all live in peace but sadly that isn’t possible. Human nature as it is will always have someone who thinks they are right and thier way should be the way of everyone else – it’s been like this I guess from the very first cavemen! Animals will fight over territory or a mate so it’s something we humans do over other things too – oppression, religion etc etc. Don’t even start to tell me we are of an higher intelligence than animals because I know that but has that ever stopped a Hitler, or god knows who from stopping and thinking “hey up, this isn’t right” – er no!! Elfin this world is far far far from perfect and it’s a shame anyone has to put their life on the line to defend their rights, their beliefs, their homes and families – BUT IT HAPPENS!

Elfin this world is far far far from perfect and it’s a shame anyone has to put their life on the line to defend their rights, their beliefs, their homes and families – BUT IT HAPPENS!

Of course it does. To Humanity’s shame. But I hope I’m never, ever in a position where I have to be ‘brave’. Because to be perfectly honest, I really don’t know if I could be.