Indy, when you were a young fellow, surly you didn't wait to be called up, gung-ho Indy would have been at the head of the queue, down at the army recruitment office, just itching to do his bit for King and Country. Nah, I bet you dogged it!

BTW, for how long now have you been swinging off the public teat, with that Aged Pension?

Yuyutsu, Indy will tell you one of the bad things Whitlam did was to put an end to National Service, and Australia's involvement in the disgusting Vietnam War. A war in which 521 young Australians were murdered by the actions of a warmongering Coalition government. At that time the biggest supporters of conscription were bloody old men and women over 65 years of age. People who had no chance of ever being conscripted themselves.

A big supporter of the Vietnam War at that time was young Liberal Party President Little Johnny Howard. Although a big supporter of conscription, like his hero Pig Iron Bob Menzies had been during WWI, a war the coward Menzies refused to serve in, although a supporter, and being of the right age. Howard dodged military service by hiding out in England for a good part of the 1960's. Gough Whitlam had served in WWII.

Individual - do you think national service should be mandatory?

Congratulations. You've destroyed the higher education system. Good luck training engineers, brilliant mathematicians and cutting-edge scientists.

Training soldiers makes them good soldiers. That training doesn't carry over to other things like scientific research, or writing novels. Did you go to college? Or are you bitter because you spent a few years in the army instead?

521 young Australians were murdered by the actions of a warmongering Coalition government
Paul1405 & Ayame Tan,
I have not served because I was not eligible when I enquired, not an Australian Citizen then.
Paul1405 you're way out of line with that ! Apart from being utterly hypocritical it is also highly offensive considering that you're sitting comfy here in Australia now because these soldiers efforts.
My guess is you haven't contributed enough to this society to warrant more than a few months worth of the Taxpayer funded Superannuation you're most likely bludging on now.

You've destroyed the higher education system.
Ayame Tan,
I see you have no idea about a national Service otherwise you'd know by now that it is not Military & that I have stated to saturation point that only young unemployed should be required to participate.
see if you can comprehend that & then put forward your idea of what should be done to get the young unemployed to become contributing members of society instead of demanding !

Independent -

You weren't eligible? Did you try to gain citizenship?

And how was the higher education system "destroyed"? What subjects were eliminated that you disliked?

Ah, so you mean the Work for the Dole thing. Thank you for clarifying. I think that's fine, but skill development should take priority. Skills are needed for everything except menial jobs.

Dear Individual,

No wonder I had no clue about "the Whitlam effect", nor could I notice anything because I was not living in Australia at the time: practically all I knew was where to find it in the atlas.

But before immigrating here, I verified that there was no conscription and the Australian consul assured us that conscription is indeed banned by Australian law: otherwise I would surely find some other place to settle.

---

Dear AyameTan,

«Both produce slaves?»

Yes, though different kind of slaves.
Having money does not mean that one's life is any better: what good is increasing the supply when the demand too is growing even faster?

My hero, Diogenes the Greek, was completely happy and free because he needed nothing. Without any academic degree, he was one of the wisest people that ever lived.

«You don't miss schools?»

Certainly not. What I wanted to know, I already studied on my own so when I reached school there was nothing for me to learn there. I got my academic degrees for all the wrong reasons, mainly because I was pressured into it by my family.

«Prohibiting recognition»

Recognition was not prohibited, the state simply did not grant it. Anyone else was free to recognise marriages as they pleased, including same-sex marriages.

«I guess you don't like people who reproduce»

Incorrect, yet I pity them.

«Do you give out free condoms? Do you pay for free vasectomies?»

I wasn't, but you gave me a good idea for charity-giving. Thanks.

«You chose your sexuality?»

I answered 'Yes', not because I wanted to prove any point, but because you asked me this directly and any other answer would have been a lie. Again, I do not wish to share my private history on a public forum, including the exceptional circumstances that led me to this choice, many years ago.

«we don't have memories before we were born?»

Strictly speaking, choice does not require memory. Nevertheless, we do have memories of a sort, though without a brain they are not verbal like the memories that we store in our brains.

And how was the higher education system "destroyed"? What subjects were eliminated that you disliked?
Ayame Tan,
Why ask me that when it's you who said it ??