henric
03-21-2012, 01:51 AM
20/03/2012 8:30:00 AM
by Monica Bugajski
In response to the London, Ontario riots, journalist Michael Den Tandt suggests that a mandatory military or community service would benefit Canadian youths, but is Den Tandt taking his generalization of a generation a bit too far?
In a recent post, journalist and blogger Michael Den Tandt argues that the rioting of about 1,000 hooligans in their late teens and twenties in London, Ontario is a reminder of just how pampered we as Canadians are, and he thinks that mandatory military and community service right after high school would sober our youth up and teach them some values.
Den Tandt writes that we live in a generous and free country rich with resources and generally safe from natural disasters. Canada has no natural geopolitical enemies, and it's pretty much a paradise in comparison to the rest of the world. I agree. Canada is an amazing place to live and has a safety net that people from other countries yearn for. It offers the kind of opportunities that our youth can make the most of.
Tandt says that what middle-class hooligans (like the St. Patrick's Day rioters) lack is a hard challenge and the adrenaline that comes from overcoming hardship. In regards to those who bragged via social media about their crimes, Den Tandt writes, "only someone who lives entirely in a bubble of comfort could be capable of such stupidity." And though I do agree that it's a good idea to force those who participated in the riots to perform community service or maybe even military service as a consequence of their crime, I just cannot take Den Tandt's sweeping generalization of a generation seriously.
When Tandt says that military or community service should be compulsory for all after high school and that it "wouldn't do them a bit of harm," he loses credibility in my eyes and becomes the "grizzled elder shaking his fist on the front porch" that he fears he may be.
You can't define a generation from the actions of a small group of drunken imbeciles. I would say these rioters are an anomaly, not the norm, and to fail to see this is to deny an entire age group of its accomplishments. There are hundreds of thousands of young Canadians making the most out of everything they were given. To say that there really is no middle class struggle is just plain wrong. Yes, the youth of the middle class doesn't have to worry about whether or not they will get food, but that doesn't mean they don't deal with their own obstacles and challenges that build character. Overcoming a learning disorder, let's say, or getting accepted into a medical school takes hard work, practice and focus.
What Den Tandt's proposing is already in existence in many countries. Surely some find their military or community service beneficial and gain a sense of purpose, but there are others who find the whole thing to be more of a nuisance rather than a benefit, and believe me, rioting still happens in these countries. Compulsory community service or military service doesn't necessarily produce the kind of results that Dan Tandt thinks it will. It will however suck more tax money out of the system and reduce the amount of people entering the workforce, which isn't good for a growing economy.
Dan Tandt's generation made it possible for this generation to choose what they want to do with their lives. If some choose to get drunk, stupid, and light things on fire, then that's just a side-effect of freedom of choice. And as much as he skirts around the issue, it's just as much of a result of his generation's parenting techniques as this generation's actions.
I'm not going to buy into the idea of taking away two years of someone's life, two years they could be dedicating to the pursuit of a degree or a career, all because a group of idiots decided to riot. Perhaps Dan Tandt's diagnosis of spoiled boredom rings true for some, but it isn't the case for all.
What do you think? Would mandatory service be a wise move in Canada?
by Monica Bugajski
In response to the London, Ontario riots, journalist Michael Den Tandt suggests that a mandatory military or community service would benefit Canadian youths, but is Den Tandt taking his generalization of a generation a bit too far?
In a recent post, journalist and blogger Michael Den Tandt argues that the rioting of about 1,000 hooligans in their late teens and twenties in London, Ontario is a reminder of just how pampered we as Canadians are, and he thinks that mandatory military and community service right after high school would sober our youth up and teach them some values.
Den Tandt writes that we live in a generous and free country rich with resources and generally safe from natural disasters. Canada has no natural geopolitical enemies, and it's pretty much a paradise in comparison to the rest of the world. I agree. Canada is an amazing place to live and has a safety net that people from other countries yearn for. It offers the kind of opportunities that our youth can make the most of.
Tandt says that what middle-class hooligans (like the St. Patrick's Day rioters) lack is a hard challenge and the adrenaline that comes from overcoming hardship. In regards to those who bragged via social media about their crimes, Den Tandt writes, "only someone who lives entirely in a bubble of comfort could be capable of such stupidity." And though I do agree that it's a good idea to force those who participated in the riots to perform community service or maybe even military service as a consequence of their crime, I just cannot take Den Tandt's sweeping generalization of a generation seriously.
When Tandt says that military or community service should be compulsory for all after high school and that it "wouldn't do them a bit of harm," he loses credibility in my eyes and becomes the "grizzled elder shaking his fist on the front porch" that he fears he may be.
You can't define a generation from the actions of a small group of drunken imbeciles. I would say these rioters are an anomaly, not the norm, and to fail to see this is to deny an entire age group of its accomplishments. There are hundreds of thousands of young Canadians making the most out of everything they were given. To say that there really is no middle class struggle is just plain wrong. Yes, the youth of the middle class doesn't have to worry about whether or not they will get food, but that doesn't mean they don't deal with their own obstacles and challenges that build character. Overcoming a learning disorder, let's say, or getting accepted into a medical school takes hard work, practice and focus.
What Den Tandt's proposing is already in existence in many countries. Surely some find their military or community service beneficial and gain a sense of purpose, but there are others who find the whole thing to be more of a nuisance rather than a benefit, and believe me, rioting still happens in these countries. Compulsory community service or military service doesn't necessarily produce the kind of results that Dan Tandt thinks it will. It will however suck more tax money out of the system and reduce the amount of people entering the workforce, which isn't good for a growing economy.
Dan Tandt's generation made it possible for this generation to choose what they want to do with their lives. If some choose to get drunk, stupid, and light things on fire, then that's just a side-effect of freedom of choice. And as much as he skirts around the issue, it's just as much of a result of his generation's parenting techniques as this generation's actions.
I'm not going to buy into the idea of taking away two years of someone's life, two years they could be dedicating to the pursuit of a degree or a career, all because a group of idiots decided to riot. Perhaps Dan Tandt's diagnosis of spoiled boredom rings true for some, but it isn't the case for all.
What do you think? Would mandatory service be a wise move in Canada?