Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman recently admitted in an interview that one of his biggest regrets is that he never spent time in the Armed Forces. Claiming “I’d have done better for having spent time in uniform”, he later went on to say that he is not in favour of National Service, but he feels in awe of his parents’ generation, who “had to do that. We’ve had it pretty easy and never been tested”.
Although he condemns war and would not wish it on anybody, he argues that it might have been better for everybody of his generation, and even today’s, to be obliged to do something rather than choosing for themselves. He ended his statement by claiming that it is difficult to comprehend today a society where people were expected to do things other than gratify themselves. Never one to shy away from debate, Paxman’s views are sure to receive some mixed reactions. His television series Britain’s Great War starts on BBC next week.
The full article is featured in today’s issue of The Times Newspaper