Logo - Feel The Words

Conscription Quotes

Freedom weighed against duty.

This conscription collection presents strong opposing views, calling forced servitude a bizarre justification for liberty and treating conscription as a contradiction of individual freedom and Christian teaching.

I personally pledge myself to openly counsel, aid, and abet youth, both black and white, to quarantine any Jim Crow conscription system.

Quotes by A. Philip Randolph

Justifying conscription to promote the cause of liberty is one of the most bizarre notions ever conceived by man! Forced servitude, with the risk of death and serious injury as a price to live free, makes no sense.

Quotes by Ron Paul

I regard the principle of conscription of life as a flat contradiction of all our cherished ideals of individual freedom, democratic liberty and Christian teaching.

Quotes by Roger Nash Baldwin

Obviously all of us have thought about Vietnam, particularly in my generation in Australia that were part of conscription and fought there. Our friends came back, forever changed. So there were a lot of questions.

Quotes by Phillip Noyce

Argument Quotes

Once conscription was introduced during the First World War, and once Britain's wars ceased being confined to the empire or to continental Europe and began seriously threatening our own shores and safety, it became much easier to denounce any anti-war...

Quotes by Linda Colley

Because conscription appeals to essentially no one, the United States has lived with the All-Volunteer Force since the end of the Vietnam War.

Quotes by Jacob Weisberg

War is wrong. Conscription for war is inconsistent with freedom of conscience, which is not merely the right to believe but to act on the degree of truth that one receives, to follow a vocation which is God-inspired and God-directed.

Quotes by Bayard Rustin

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the central debate in these conscription quotes?
They debate whether mandatory military service can ever be justified in the name of liberty, with strong opinions on both individual freedom and national duty.
Why does one quote call conscription 'bizarre'?
It argues that justifying conscription as a path to liberty is contradictory, since forcing servitude to defend freedom risks death and injury against one's will.
What values does the second conscription quote weigh?
It weighs conscription against individual freedom, democratic liberty, and Christian teaching, treating forced service as a contradiction of all three.
How did conscription's role change historically, per one quote?
It notes conscription began in the First World War once Britain's conflicts stopped being confined to the empire and started threatening its own shores directly.
Does the collection mention the modern volunteer force?
Yes, one quote notes the United States has relied on an All-Volunteer Force since Vietnam because conscription appeals to essentially no one. See Argument quotes.

Others trace how conscription reshaped Britain once its wars moved beyond the empire, and note the United States has instead relied on a volunteer force since Vietnam. See Argument quotes or Believe quotes.