Posted by Tony on April 11, 2002 at 01:47:23:
In Reply to: Re: By the way Tony posted by Evanthia on April 10, 2002 at 22:45:18:
I agree with you, it is an adventure and after all is said and done you will have a few good stories to tell. I was born in Canada and therefore this was not an issue for me but the bulk of my family is back in Greece and yeah my male cousins have all been through it. They see it as a right of passage, which of course is exactly what it is in Greece... from what I understand a boy isn't a man until they're discharged from the military which is all well and good if you live in Greece. A guy some posts back said tho that his family moved to the US when he was 1 -- for all intents and purposes the man is an American -- the Greek government should have some sort of an exception for situations like that. I do recall hearing somewhere that military obligations can be relived by paying some about of money.. is that true? If it is, why is this even an issue?
: I could have misunderstood you Tony. I admit I smiled a great deal at your final line regarding people putting their life on hold because of bureaucratic processes - well I guess it wouldn't have been the first time in the universe that people have had delays/obstacles/all sorts of headaches due to some or other bureaucracy, that's the nature of the world. You know sometimes there is virtue in shrugging your shoulders and accepting what is, I mean national service is not the end of the world is it? I know many men whose closest friendships were established with fellow conscripts during national service. I'm not saying that the social reason is the only reason a man should do service if he has to, but there are advantages to the individual as well as the state. What ever happened to viewing life as a bit of an adventure that one doesn't always have total control over? The myth of an individual's control over every aspect of his life is a marketing tool designed to make you 'choose' one consumer product over the other. Forgive me I stray into philosophy and economics. I don't know, but the men I met that did their service didn't like the interruption but have some good stories to tell now. National service is not an illness nor a catastrophe, an obligation yes but it can be character building.