Oh wow, soooo interesting! For me, it's the government forcibly taking control of a year of your life. I'm not saying that my perspective is correct. It's just that that's how I see it. I voluntarily served 4 years in the American military, so I'm not opposed to government service. I guess maybe my American mistrust of government is what's making me apprehensive of the policy. It's like I fear that the federal government will misuse it while also taking a major formative year of its citizens' lives. Moreover, even if the government tries its best to make ethical decisions, I don't think government is capable of making those decisions. It's too bloated and compromised by the selfish goals of politicians and elites. Thinking it through for this comment, I would be more comfortable with the government providing incentives for 18 year olds to contribute public service by providing extra benefits such as college tuition, home loan guaranty, preferential hiring for government jobs, so it might be the mandatory part that is the main factor driving my concern. Btw,...woahhh, I'm having a moment since I never expected to be so American with my politics because I generally swing quite left, even for those outside of the USA.
What's the perspective you guys have on it? How do you see it? Is it something like, "This is a good policy because citizens should contribute to their country and government is an appropriate avenue to decide how to do so and enforce this?" I would love to hear how you guys generally see it because this seems like an interesting clash of cultures. I look forward to your response 😀