How many people think the draft is a good thing, and how many think it is bad?
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I would agree with having a draft, but only if our country's borders are actually being threatened by a foreign army and there's no other way to get enough soldiers to defend them. Otherwise, using military conscription is a blatant form of involuntary servitude and it violates the 13th Amendment.
Amendment XII, Section 1.
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
What crime has anybody committed in order to be forced to fight and die? And besides being a violation of everybody's rights, a draft wouldn't even be practical in this day and age. The main reason why our current military is so professional is because they're dedicated volunteers who want to be there and all at least have high school diplomas. 35 years ago you could give any dumb illiterate schmuck 4 weeks of basic training and toss a rifle in his hand and send him out to war, but nowadays you need a minimum of 1 year training in all kinds of computer equipment just to be battle-ready as an ordinary infantryman. Most young adults today aren't up to the task, and you would end up ruining the military by forcing them to accomodate the lowest common denominators of society. A draft would also give us a massive army, and history shows that if you allow politicians to control a large standing army they're just going to look for excuses to use it and start conquering other nations.
Not to mention, the reason why the draft was discontinued in the U.S. in the first place was because it was too damn expensive for the government to train and pay every 18 year old male in the country. Considering the amount of equipment and training they would need today, we would never be able to afford it now. We have reserve forces anyway. These are civilian guard units located in every state which are composed of "citizen-soldiers" who can be called upon for any major operation and ensure that the burden of national service is shared. So what the hell would we need general conscription for?
Good: very few. A big portion are liberals who would love to use it to bash Bush and the war.
depends on the war
I think it would be bad. There is enough people in the military now that want out. They are sh^t birds and don't even want to improve themselves and be leaders. If you have a bunch of people that don't even want to be there somebody can be hurt or killed because of them, not to mention the money lost when 1/2 of them are dropped and discharged from boot camp.
I think it's an abhorrent idea that the government can just pluck you out of your normal life and require you to serve them in uniform, possibly to be killed.
I'm all for volunteer military forces - my 20 years were a valuable experience and I would do it all over again. But I'm against forcing that life on anyone.
People shouldn't be forced to do something they dont want to. So its bad.
all the idiots who think a draft for a phony corrupt war is good should have to go first.flag waving morons should go next and politicians should go right to the front line where they belong.
I think the draft is needed in our country. We have a volunteer military that is too small to handle current operations while also giving them a fair chance at having a successful family life. What wife/husband/child can deal with a family member being gone every other year for a year or more (which is pretty typcial for many military units right now). Besides this fact, we are losing good Soldiers who might otherwise stay in if deployment cycles were more reasonable.
If we had a draft, we could alleviate the strain we are putting on our current troops, even if the draftees or mandatory service obligation Soldiers only served one tour or a 2-3 year total stint. This would also force the American people to feel more involved in this conflict. People will think twice about how important the war is if they're son or daughter might have to head out there. It's always easier to send someone else's child into hell than your own. It will also force more people into being aware of the current events. Most people aren't aware of what is going on outside of their own backyards because it doesn't affect them.
In addition, we all benefit from this country and benefit from our Soldiers and I think the experience certainly will not make anyone a worse person for the experience.
I think it's a good thing
Once again, to all you reality challenged libs.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/allpolitics/01/0...
Charlie Rangel, Democrat, the one who introduced a draft bill. It's your own guys talking about a draft. They're trying to scare you. You're sheep. So its working.
I was a hippy in the 60s/70s and thought it was bad. Now, I'm not sure. With the military as it is now, people join because they need the money and to try to get an education. The well to do can be for war because they know that none of their own are at risk. Maybe with the draft, some of the more well off would have to worry about their kids going, and would not be so gung ho. The rich kids still would not go, but at least some of the wealthy republicans would have to worry instead of the whole thing falling primarily on the shoulders of the poor/middle class.
bad
it's a rich man's war and poor man's fight
bush, GET YOUR OWN OIL!
Mandatory military service might turn a bunch of spoiled, lazy brats into honorable, respectible citizens.
freedom is not, as many liberals like to believe, free. It has a cost. The USA is not despised because of President Bush, it is despised because (1) US citizens are viewed as lazy, stupid, uneducated, and (2) US news services get away with degrading, belittling, demeaning US efforts around the world, and the rest of the world takes their cue from what left-leaning liberal whackos write in newspapers and blogs, without any concern for the impact such nonsense has on world opinion toward the USA.
The draft isn't even the same thing as compulsary military service that is practiced in countries like Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. These all require male and occasionally female citizens to participate in military service when they become 18 years old.
If not military service, then compulsary national service of some kind should be required if for no other reason than to create a work ethic, teach discipline, show the benefits of service to others, and get whining lazy kids who think life is all about school, and fooling around, to learn something about what it takes to protect and maintain the fabric of our society, and to defend it should the need arise, as it has numerous times in history.
Conscripts benefit from the military service because they learn practical life skills such as first aid, wilderness survival, computer proficiency and self-defense. They become physically fit, mentally strong and knowledgeable in multiple areas. Conscripts learn how to work hard, discipline themselves, follow orders, think on their feet and lead their peers. Most importantly they come away from the military with the skills that benefit society, the workplace and the family. With a college degree, the men and women who served their two years with honors will be sought after by the public and private sectors.
Jeff
The draft is bad. It means Bush wins again!
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