How would you describe patriotism? Keeping it as simple as possible.
How about, patriotism is being prepared to make personal sacrifices for the good of the country and your fellow country-folk?
Of course, some manipulative politicians have an unpleasant habit of dividing the people into patriots and non-patriots. And for them, the distinction between patriots and non-patriots is simply which political party they support. But political beliefs have nothing to do with patriotism.
During World War 2, more than 16 million Americans served in the military, while about 2.7 million Americans served in the combat zone during the Vietnam War. Can we really believe that all of those Americans who did their patriotic duty all supported just one political party?
Of course we can’t. And not because in both wars, many Americans were conscripted into military service, rather than volunteering. But because patriots see beyond political parties.
Still, the usage of conscription in both wars highlights an important truth about patriotism. In some cases it may be necessary to force citizens to do their patriotic duty.
That may make patriotism feel a little less pure and heroic, but the reality is that about two-thirds of Americans that served during WW2 were conscripted and they made up a similar proportion of the more than 400,000 deaths. Perhaps surprisingly, during the Vietnam War, the proportion reversed with one-quarter or a little more of those in the combat zone being conscripted, though they made up almost one-third of the 58,220 killed.
Clearly, forcing people into situations where their lives are at risk isn’t desirable, but in times of national emergencies, it can become necessary. And many people are now seeing the US federal debt as a national emergency. Elon Musk, when commenting about the work of DOGE on Joe Rogan’s show, said, “So even if you implement all these savings, you’re only delaying the day of reckoning for when America goes bankrupt.”
Doesn’t that sound like an emergency to you? By October 2026, the debt had hit $40.41 trillion. That’s a huge figure, Though it’s not even a third of the wealth that the wealthiest 10% of Americans have hoarded, which officially stands at $127.95 trillion. And some think they could be hiding as much as another $8 trillion on top of that. Either way, it dwarfs the $4.14 trillion shared between the poorest 50% of Americans.
During war, conscription is used to force Americans to do their patriotic duty. Why not use conscription during the national debt emergency? It’s not like anyone’s going to die. It’s only money that will be conscripted. And remember, the wealthiest 10% will still have at least $87.54 trillion after they pay off the debt.
In fact, Musk could pay off 1% of the debt on his own and still be the wealthiest person in the world. Wouldn’t that be a wonderfully patriotic gesture by the South African born and naturalized American citizen to show his gratitude to the country that gave him the opportunities his homeland never could?
Of course, Musk and his wealthy chums will quickly explain why he can’t possibly do that. Most likely something about the stock price crashing if he tried to sell so much. But surely the greatest problem solver of our age could work something out. Maybe he could just gift $500 billion of stock to the government and let them work out how to extract the maximum value. After all, that’s the thing with gift giving. It’s the thought that counts.
So, should conscription be used to pay off the US national debt?
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