Should Military Be Required?

I spoke to a friend of mine, who enlisted in the Navy approximately 3+ months ago, just yesterday and he told me, "I think it should be required for everybody to be in the military at some point in their lives. I mean, if they can turn me around, they can turn anyone around." I hadn't talked to the guy for a while, so I didn't argue.

While, I sincerely hope that he has been shown a new perspective, has learned a great deal, and is a better person because of his joining the Navy, I don't think everyone should be required to join the military. While I agree that the military can be very beneficial for some people, it can also harm others, and not everyone needs to be shaken up and changed drastically.

If everyone went to the military at some point in their lives, can you imagine what this country would be like? For those that take the U.S. as a democracy, you might as well kiss that notion goodbye. We'd look more like a dictatorship than any democracy. The president's numbers would look like Bush's were right after 9/11. If this were to take place, yeah, we might be more united, but not voluntarily. We'd lack diversity in voice, belief, and opinion, and through that, we'd be nowhere near a democracy or even a republic.

I truly hope that the Navy was able to turn my friend's life around and I can understand why he'd say that, if it truly has aided him. If someone or something helped turn my life around, I'd probably feel similarly to that as my friend does toward the military. But, there's no such thing as any entity turning around every person's life. Every religion has had positive and negative impacts on people's lives. Different governments have as well. This holds true for the military, also. While it may help some, it won't help all, and will even hinder some, so it shouldn't be required of everyone.