Should the military draft be again initiated?

Absolutely. Nothing like a draft to get people off their asses and protesting like hell!

It’s the whole “sending people off to a foreign country, against their will” idea that I dont really like. I’m all about people living their lives the way they choose and frankly leaving them the hell alone.

However, given the circumstances our country needs recruits and needs militia to defend itself, yes, I understand that purpose of the draft. I understand freedom isn’t exactly free and in in modern day it sometimes has to be fought for.

I think the military industrial complex has done enough harm to this country. I have no problem with encouraging community service but see no particular connection between what our military’s doing and freedom – some of the youth you’re talking to simply have a different opinion from you and from what I know of youth, many are highly informed and against the current wars – they’re not interested in the military not because they’re naive but because they’re not.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Plus, many have a problem with fighting for a country they don’t believe in (at least, not enough to die for).

@papayalily I agree and there is nothing wrong with not being patriotic (and no, this doesn’t mean I am okay with anyone coming and killing my children, NOT the same thing) – both patriotism and nationalism are, to me, terribly counterproductive social constructs and for many Americans, they don’t make sense – we’re citizens of the world.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I agree. Many an international squabble (though by no means all) would be avoided if people stopped puffing out their chests and saying “We’re better!!! Because…. err…. we are….”

As a vetran of the cold war with two children. I say the only way to stop the old white people from declaring war is have their children eligible for the draft. Then you know someone will put a little more thought about going to war.

For Americans? In the present time? No.
I see no reason why it makes any sense, drafting unwillling kids to go kill other kids across the globe who’re just trying to survive. They’re not a threat to our wellbeing, and as Sun Tzu said, ”There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.”

Do I think there are cases in which it is an acceptable idea to reinstate the draft? Yeah. But I don’t foresee those coming any time soon for us.

@john65pennington Aren’t the people on the streets with too much idle time also the ones you speak of who aren’t qualified for psychological or physical reasons? Or are you thinking of a different group?

A two-fold purpose would be accomplished. People with too much idle time would be taken off the streets and serve a useful purpose. And, crime intervention for criminal activity would be accomplished.

Are you suggesting that they find a way to draft only the lazy and criminals? Somehow this seems like a bad idea on so many levels. Or are you suggesting that all young people are lazy or criminal? Because if that’s the case, we need to be having a much different discussion. Some of us work our butts off to get where we want in life. Is it evil if where I want to be is not across an ocean killing people?

@bobbinhood Well said, and I agree.

@john65pennington For the record you’re not the only person who has served. I’ve served and almost every person in my family has served in some capacity. No I do not support a military draft. A democracy does not force people to support it. Even Ronald Reagan would agree with me on this.

I personally know from serving myself I would not want riff raff by my side or someone who didn’t want to be there with me. As far as reinstating a military draft to prevent politicians from starting unnecessary wars if their own kids could be drafted, um you can’t be serious. Do you really trust the government to enforce a universal draft? I gaurantee you all it will be the same people being drafted that did during the Vietnam War. It will be lower middle class young males. What decides who gets drafted or who doesn’t?

What we really need to do citizens of this country is to get the special interests out of our government to stop all of the many years of corruption. If people want to fight the military industrial complex then support more people like Ron Paul and other politicians who are not tied to special interests.

I think the draft should only come back in extreme situations. As a spouse with a soldier overseas right now, I’d much rather the people that are there watching his back be people that at least signed up for the job. Many of them may not want to be there for various reasons, but I think it’s completely different than people that never wanted to be part of the military to begin with. I believe their mentality would be very different.

If the military wants to get more people, then they need to work on their recruiting efforts and the view people have of the military in general.

@sarcasm the old way, the way of the bush,
was and will always be the art of prolonged war.
Our nation has always used war to grow.
Some have even suggested that Roosevelt let Japan
bomb us and save us at the same time.
The Reagan grew our military to it’s greatest heights
on just the THOUGHT of war.
So as the great and wise Bush once said himself
“We are afterall a wartime economy”

No.
I admit a little bit of it is selfishness—I’m prime drafting material, but I don’t want to go to war. I don’t believe in war.

I’m really glad that you found serving your (our) country satisfying. But if that’s why everyone should do something, because it’s fulfilling, then everyone would have to do… pretty much everything. Because someone, somewhere, is finding it fulfilling.
But I know already I wouldn’t get out of serving what you did. All I’d carry with me are the violent memories. The Things They Carried, anyone?

Drafting kids to fight for freedom seems wrong. Forcing kids is freedom? No. It’s not.

America doesn’t have to be protected at whatever cost. At a lot of costs, sure. I don’t want to see my home gone anymore than you do. But at any? What if the cost is the rest of the world?

Besides all that, I don’t like the idea that the government has enough power to force me into something that could very well be the death of me. It shouldn’t have the power to decide to risk my life for me, or the life of anyone for anyone. Them voluntarily stepping up, that’s fine. Being dragged, not so much.

I’m 20 years older (more or less) than @Simone_De_Beauvoir and I agree with her completely.

@Symbeline Thanks. I usually keep that particular tone sheathed, but it just wasn’t happening this time.

@Rarebear I’m youth, I’m youth :)

I see where @john65pennington is coming from – I certainly do love my country, this is home, I’m given a lot of freedom here, I’ve lived and continue to live a good life here – all things of which my ancestors fought and gambled their lives for. It would be incredibly selfish, arrogant and disrespectful if given the situation where all of that was ever critically threatened, I stand aside and do nothing. I would gladly protect my country and freedoms, that much I agree with.

However, as @Simone_De_Beauvoir put so eloquently, I also don’t exactly agree with our military actions over the past couple of years and neither do either of my parents. If I were told I had to be shipped off to Iraq when that whole fiasco started, my parents probably would’ve shipped me to another country to avoid the draft or I would’ve immediately disclosed my “sexual preferences”. What’s to be said about our government itself over the past few years? It’s been a toss-up between lies, hidden agendas, mismanagement, corruption and unconstitionalism. As a country, we’re ”still unhappy with the decisions being made by our government and I can hardly predict what direction we’ll be heading in the next few years to come.

With that said, I think a big, long, brutally honest and thorough discussion must be in order concerning just what exactly we’re fighting for, long before a military draft ever be instated on our country.

I don’t particularly feel like dying for a country that doesn’t think I’m good enough to die for it.