Can military service be an obligation of citizenship?

In 1778, Samuel Johnson said that “every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier,” but should that still be the case today?  John Stuart Mill claimed:

A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for…is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. 

Was Mill right?  Does every able-bodied citizen have an obligation to put him or herself in harm’s way if needed?  Should the United States compel such service by a draft?  Perhaps most importantly, is a fully-informed discussion about these issues overdue in America?

If you are interested in a perspective on these questions, check out my new essay on War in the Rocks found here.

As we like to say on Lawfire^®, check the facts, assess the arguments, and decide for yourself!