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Rodney · 11-15-2003, 07:26 AM

1. I didn't think the draft was a good idea at first, but now I do. Not just for the military, but for noational service of some kind. People could have choices -- the military, urban education programs like City Year, working in ambulance crews, conservation projects, and so on. One thing we've lost in this country is the sense that we're all in this together. We have to remember that the common good is everybody's business, not just the people we hire to do it. Second, as a lot of old liberals are saying, military service sucks in every way you might think of, but it does introduce you to kinds of people you would never, ever have met , who come from different backgrounds and think entirely differently than you. We don't have that anymore; there's increasingly no place in our society where different classes of people mix. Even racial segregation in schools is at its lowest point in 30 years. Parts of our society are increasingly isolated from each other. In the long run, that ain't good.

The draft would have to be fair, of course -- everybody goes. And the hard duty -- armed forces, etc. -- would have to be shared equally by all socio-economic groups.

2. I'm pretty sure that most Guardsmen believe that they're signing up to protect the homeland, not fight overseas. It's probably a possibility they accept, but only in an extreme national emergency. This isn't one. If the country sends them overseas for long periods, the country had better be prepared to help them pick up the pieces at home, because unlike the family of an active-duty military person, guard families don't have the support struture -- institutional, financial, etc. -- in place to handle long absences without hardship. But so far, the Guard are being treated like the temps of the military -- use 'em, then lose 'em.
As for the reserve, the armed forces of this county have been drawn down to the point where the military no longer has enough of certain specialist units to handle large military operations, and _must_ call in reservists every time. I think this is wrong. While I believe we spend too much on the military, I think we could have five or ten billion a year off some of these boondoggle black projects we're not supposed to hear about and both beef up military numbers and military training, support, and wages.

3. Will the draft make a comeback. Maybe as national service, eventually. After all, most of these supposedly effete European countries have national service -- again, not strictly the military, but also other types of service -- and I see no rioting in the streets.

The middel- and upper-classes haven't pulled their weight in a war since (and including Vietnam). In Vietnam, much of the fighting was left to lower-class draftees. Since then, we've been hiring our soldiers. While I'd say that most of them are patriots, the most common motivation for going in seems to be educational benefits, job training, and so on.

Will the draft make a comeback? Don't know. But as someone who does not agree in rushing to war, I think it should come back. Because I think people in this country will be more thoughtful about going to war if more of them have loved ones and friends in service.

11-15-2003, 07:26 AM	#17 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	1. I didn't think the draft was a good idea at first, but now I do. Not just for the military, but for noational service of some kind. People could have choices -- the military, urban education programs like City Year, working in ambulance crews, conservation projects, and so on. One thing we've lost in this country is the sense that we're all in this together. We have to remember that the common good is everybody's business, not just the people we hire to do it. Second, as a lot of old liberals are saying, military service sucks in every way you might think of, but it does introduce you to kinds of people you would never, ever have met , who come from different backgrounds and think entirely differently than you. We don't have that anymore; there's increasingly no place in our society where different classes of people mix. Even racial segregation in schools is at its lowest point in 30 years. Parts of our society are increasingly isolated from each other. In the long run, that ain't good. The draft would have to be fair, of course -- everybody goes. And the hard duty -- armed forces, etc. -- would have to be shared equally by all socio-economic groups. 2. I'm pretty sure that most Guardsmen believe that they're signing up to protect the homeland, not fight overseas. It's probably a possibility they accept, but only in an extreme national emergency. This isn't one. If the country sends them overseas for long periods, the country had better be prepared to help them pick up the pieces at home, because unlike the family of an active-duty military person, guard families don't have the support struture -- institutional, financial, etc. -- in place to handle long absences without hardship. But so far, the Guard are being treated like the temps of the military -- use 'em, then lose 'em. As for the reserve, the armed forces of this county have been drawn down to the point where the military no longer has enough of certain specialist units to handle large military operations, and _must_ call in reservists every time. I think this is wrong. While I believe we spend too much on the military, I think we could have five or ten billion a year off some of these boondoggle black projects we're not supposed to hear about and both beef up military numbers and military training, support, and wages. 3. Will the draft make a comeback. Maybe as national service, eventually. After all, most of these supposedly effete European countries have national service -- again, not strictly the military, but also other types of service -- and I see no rioting in the streets. The middel- and upper-classes haven't pulled their weight in a war since (and including Vietnam). In Vietnam, much of the fighting was left to lower-class draftees. Since then, we've been hiring our soldiers. While I'd say that most of them are patriots, the most common motivation for going in seems to be educational benefits, job training, and so on. Will the draft make a comeback? Don't know. But as someone who does not agree in rushing to war, I think it should come back. Because I think people in this country will be more thoughtful about going to war if more of them have loved ones and friends in service.