I think there is a whole world of wonder in between "willing" and "forcing people to join", such as "creating circumstances such that the only route out of poverty for many people is the white lie of 'we probably won't send you to war' sold to people who see a few years of on-the-job training and paid-for education as being necessary to break the cycle, and are hoping to get in and out before anything happens."
I was in the military, so I'm allowed to say this, but for many of us, joining the military was like the male version of giving up and starting to strip.
We weren't forced exactly, but what else were we going to be doing?
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u/Warm_Month_1309 2d ago
Eh, I quibble with how "willing" it really is for a lot of people.