Ive have a "next generation" younger family member whom Ive gotten close too in recent years and I thought I knew him pretty well until the other day when I happened to ask him... "If they called you up, would you fight for Australia?"

His answer was a totally unexpected..."No way, Id rather go to gaol".

"Wow... where did that come from?" I thought.

As one of the baby boomers generation I grew up being taught by our school teachers that it was a good and noble thing to fight for your country in time of war. Many of them had fought and had done well and many had earned medals and ribbons for their efforts.

Is my younger family members' attitude typical of his generation?
He's now 29 years old.

Perhaps the way we were taught...is not the way of modern youth?
Is todays generation over-comforted?
Id be interested to know what folks thought about serving Australia.

Thats serving Australia by-the-way...not Kevin Rudd or any other politician.

Gibo I truly think few would say no.
You can not blame the young for being young.
They are different than us and that is not a bad thing.
Some wars never needed to be fought ,if we had not lost so many good people in world war one so the Royal family could settle a private dispute we would be a better country for it.
If you had the chance to go back to that war knowing you would be lead by an upper class twit who knew nothing, who sat in a headquarters safe house while sending you to die for no gain would you?
Yes I would fight for my country if it wanted me too.
But not without knowing why.
No offense meant mate but not God nor King but country yes I would fight .

Belly... I think your sentiments would be echo'ed by most of us.

We want to know 'why'.....

We don't want to be some dip stick's canon fodder.

We don't want to be in a war of 'aggression'...

Unfortunately the line between "pre-emptive strike based on good intelligence and bitter experience" and "territorial aggression" is not so clear sometimes.

Even if it is clear to our side, it would always be characterized as "Imperialist Agression and Capitalist hegemony/Christian Crusade" depending on who the other party happened to be.

Perhaps we need to draw a line which is clearly spelt out to our neighbours who can then interpret our actions in terms of that line.

If it is crossed... we act... until then.. we do nothing.
All in a defensive framework of course.

I liked the "upper class twit" thing Belly:)

WW1 seemed to be a lot like that.

"The whistle blows and up climb the soldiers out of the trenches and straight into the machineguns...line by line they march forward and face the machineguns and fall in the thousands".
Much likewise does seem to have been squabbling in the Royal households.

Polycarp
I dont think too many Australian soldiers will be going overseas for any more wars of aggression.

We cant afford to put them out with such a vast land to protect.

The "signs of the times" show that we are going to need our men and women here.
Personally Im too old to go overseas myself... but not too old to serve if a conflict comes here.
One thing I did glean from Christian prophecy is that both China and Indonesia have plans for Australia.
They hover quielty above us... and wait for the moment.
I expect, yet, to serve my country.
Be a bit of an adventure I reckon.

Gibo,
China does not have to go to war with Australia as they will soon own us as their economy buys all our resources and supplies all our needs. Indonesia might be another matter as they are prone to jealousy and power.

An interesting perspective, Philo.

>>Indonesia might be another matter as they are prone to jealousy and power.<<

What might be your evidence for this?

Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch in the seventeenth century.

It was occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945.

The country became independent from the Dutch in 1949..

Indonesia is a parliamentary democracy, with an elected president.

From what, exactly, do you deduce that the country is "prone to jealousy and power"?