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I am not one to advocate the reintroduction of National Service in the form it was back in the 1950′s but I do wonder whether a different type of “conscription” might be a good idea for society at large. Whilst ‘military’ in the sense of being a “conscription” and a legally enforceable duty to serve, under tight discipline, the majority apart from fitness training, would not serve in a conventional military role. However let me start with some issues that this idea might make a contribution to resolving:

Defence Spending

The only way to reduce the size of the State and therefore the taxes that we pay is to cut public sector jobs. Even if this is accepted by the electorate, which it will be providing it is not ‘their’ particular job, the politicians will inevitably go for “soft targets” that few would notice in their day to day lives and that means Defence Reviews/Cuts. They will not cut major capital projects that provide civilian employment, the axe will therefore fall on the number of soldiers, sailors and airmen which is ridiculous considering that we have a major manpower shortage and retention problem there already.

British Society

Our society within the UK has also hit a crisis point in a number of ways. Whilst the 1980s were good for the economy of our country, in the longer term the relative affluence has created a selfish and fragmented society that is very sectionalised and increasingly divided into a multiplicity of groupings each isolated one from another. The divisions can be on religious, race, geographical, economic status, aspirational grounds or any sub division you can imagine – what football club ?

What we have lost is a sense of a common ground and purpose and a symptom of this is people trying to find that through ever smaller groupings whether as Muslims, Afro Caribbean, Asian or African origins, being English, Welsh, Scottish or Irish, anything rather than being just “British”. This has been accompanied during the same period by the loosening of the religious and family bonds that one would normally expect to bind society in times of change or crisis.

Parenting

People fondly imagine “bad parents” as being teenage single mums with a number of children, each sired by a different absent father, living on some ‘sink council estate’ with an income provided by State Benefits. Whilst this may be true of some, bad parenting or perhaps more accurately “disinterested parenting” has become the norm right across and at every level of society.

We have a parenting generation, many of whom have not grown up mentally or emotionally, who think that they can have it all, which clearly they can’t. However, whilst they pursue their “lifestyle goals”, it is the children, their children who suffer. Material comforts and possessions as bribes to children are valueless when what they need most is to be loved, have time spent on them, with them and for them to feel part of something and that “something” to be something more human than the latest mobile phone.

In the past the middle classes built a home environment to encourage and support their children in “striving” academically, today it is the parents that “strive” relentlessly even on behalf of their virtually adult off-spring which has led to the description of “Helicopter Parents” that hover over their children and interfere constantly. It is this same generation that has applauded any form of legislation that imposes restrictions on “other people” such as them not being allowed to smoke, drink, drive 4x4s or be fat or any other list you can imagine.

After a decade of this kind of legislation accompanied by material prosperity, society has truly become something with a nasty and hectoring voice that rather stupidly fails to see that this bullying legislation and the atmosphere it engenders of compulsion is being matched by violent crime on our streets and in our classrooms committed by young people, often armed with deadly weapons. It is the same “asymmetric war” and response as that of the suicide bomber and cannot be solved by the micro-management of the individuals involved and their lives.

Government

Throughout the ages young people have sort comfort and ‘comradeship’ from their peer groups which is normal however, today for many young people, William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” is an all too present reality. If parents won’t or can’t engender a sense of society and respect for others, then someone has to do it for them because they are not up to the job.

Of course as a country gets the Government it deserves, it is no surprise that they are not up to the job either. The Government and Parliament have failed the people of these islands over the past decade with their meaningless spewing out of unenforceable proscriptive legislation on the ins and outs of the monkey’s bottom, none of it of any value whatsoever. Politicians should understand that their job is to define an ‘environment’, it is the people, the businesses they work in or own who create the wealth of this nation and who’s taxes should be properly spent, it is not the job of politicians to do any much more than act as the Taxpayer’s Auditors.

The coming trend has to be to devolve power to the lowest practical level and strengthen local democracy and accountability, it is the job of Parliament to collect and distribute revenue, set standards in health and education but not be also the supplier of those services. Where central Government must retain taxes and have total power lies in the areas of Foreign Policy of which defence is one significant aspect.

Education

After billions of Pounds being spent on education, at a conservative estimate (with a small ‘c’), 20% of children leave school barely able to read or write, it must be time for a change.

Given the fact that in any one year, there will be a finite need for qualified people entering any profession whether Law, Medicine, Engineering and so on, this current Government’s aim of having 50% of young people having a degree education, is to say the least rather misguided. This becomes especially so, with deliberate policies to reduce the value whilst increasing the volume of passes in the exams required for university entrance – A levels.

It is time to concentrate educational resources on the probably 60% of pupils who have no interest in academia or exams but who may well have other and equally valuable talents to offer society and with which they can earn a living. Targeting specifically young men and giving them activities into which their quite natural aggressions can be channelled whilst also giving them career/training opportunities, makes a lot of sense for them personally as well as society at large.