:: The Rational Radical Blog ::

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Bring Back the Draft

Here's a great, succinct letter to the New York Times I totally agree with about why we should work to see the draft -- this time universal with no exemptions -- brought back:

To the Editor:

You say, "There should be no thought of reinstating the draft" ("The Death Spiral of the Volunteer Army," editorial, May 29). I disagree.

The universal military training obligation that faced young men before introduction of the all-volunteer army was both a democratizing influence on American society and a meaningful check against the possibility of imprudent military initiatives.

Fighting wars is a very unpleasant business that should not be left primarily to those for whom civilian life does not offer any better opportunity.

When the country's security is genuinely at risk, why should the most privileged members of society - those with the most to lose - be exempt from the sacrifices that need to be made in its defense?

And when the nation's security is not genuinely at risk but political leaders want to wage war anyway, the difficulty of conscripting the children of relatively well-to-do, relatively well educated, relatively influential parents can have an important and constructive influence on policy.

We got into Vietnam using volunteers, and we got out after middle-class moms, terrified at the prospect of seeing their sons drafted and killed in that senseless conflict, started protesting.

Joel Yohalem
Tallahassee, Fla., May 31, 2005

As I never get tired of saying, when Jenna and Barbara are stationed in Baghdad and Tikrit, I'll shut my mouth.

Jack Clark 10:06 PM [+]   
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