I think the draft should be reinstated and include both girls and boys?

Question

Ok, my grandpa was drafted for Vietnam War service. At that time the draft mostly caught the underpriveleged. Its a long story but he got drafted because of inability to concentrate which caused him to fail some college classes and lose his forebearance. My idea is to make military service mandatory for the children of elected office holders so that they will have a personal stake in their votes. Also any college student who completes two years should be required to serve for two years in the military, or as an unpaid urban worker assisting the less fortunate, or paid service in an overseas assignment if the place is dangerous. ALL colleges that receive 5% or more government money including tuition assistance, government scholorships, grants to faculty members, etc would require their student body to serve. This would answer the argument that only the lower classes serve. High school graduates vocational ed students, dropouts, would be exempted. HS graduateds could enlist.

One of the issues is that the rich and well connected do not have to serve yet their famililies benefit from military contracts etc. This would insure that they would not be exempt from serving their country. All those who make decisions to go to war would be putting the lives of their sons and daughters on the line so they would be more careful about those decisions. The charge that lower class people carry the burden would be countered by exempting them from military service. Also using those who have been to college and requiring them to either serve in the military or as an unpaid volunteer would provide a cheap but well educated pool of labor to focus their energies on improving the lives of Americans. Oh I should not have used boy or girl in my question. I still think of young adults in that way but the age of service should be 18 to 50. That means anyone who is the son or daughter of a senator who is older would still have to serve.

Answer 1

I agree with a portion of your question. I do believe that everyone should spend some time in service for the country. I do not believe that time should have to be in the military. I was on the list for the draft after I graduated from college. I joined the air force because I did not want to go to Nam. But requiring that every individual serve the government for a year or two after high school or at a certain age, gives us the manpower to help with not only the military but environmental and social issues. It also gives the youth a look at a world different than their own. I saw a lot of change in people during the 6 weeks of basic. Teenagers need the time to grow up and decide what they want for the rest of their lives.

Answer 2

The way that the draft works today (if it were activate) is that
school exemptions would only be until the end of the current
semester. Politicians so find ways to keep their kids out of
the service and in some ways I can agree with that because
if they're kids became POW's the enemy could put pressures
on them affecting their judgments.

There is a contradiction in your last statement, you first state
that high school graduates would be exempted then state that
they could enlist, aside from that there is no reason to allow
vocational ed students or dropouts to be exempted as this
would just create a massive over population of uneducated
people and besides it does not take a Masters degree
to fight for your country.

Drafting of women and young girls should never be an option
those that wish to join can do so but do you have any idea
what they do to women POW's ?

You have some pretty whacked ideas going on in your head.

Answer 3

Your assertion flies in the face of the very concept of personal property. Look at it this way: Who owns you? If you own yourself, then only you should decide your future. But if the government owns you, then only the government should decide for you.

Let's apply your premise to marriage instead of career choice. I'm sure it's fair to say that you would like to marry someone whom you love, who loves you, who shares your values and has similar goals and dreams for life. This is as it should be.

But let’s pretend for a moment that the US federal government passed a law that requires you to get married by a certain age - just for fun we can call it the Diversity Using Marriage By Aggravating Social Stability law, or DUMBASS. Let’s also pretend that it requires you to marry someone from a different ethnic or racial group, from a different socio-economic background, from a different part of the country, with a different educational background, from a different culture, or even with a different sexual orientation. Under this DUMBASS law, you would have to register for a spouse with the DUMBASS Spousal Selection Service. After some bureaucratic waste of time, the government would assign the spouse that best fits the federal goal of diversity. You would be required to stay married for the same number of years you would have a draftee serve in the military. If you fail to accept that spouse, you would have to be an unpaid urban (and just what is wrong with being a rural worker?) worker for the balance of the required marriage contract.

Not a very pleasant system, is it?

Okay, that’s enough flogging for one day, don’t you think??? You are at that magical period of young adulthood when you think you have all the answers to life’s injustices. Been there, done that; lost my shirt. It is good that you are questioning things. None of us has all the answers. This is especially true for people in government.

Answer 4

Where did you get the idea that only the "lower" classes serve? Today approaching 90% of all military with 4 or more years of service have some college credit and depending on the service the number of college graduates in the enlisted ranks exceed the number of commissioned officers.

Answer 5

I think the draft is stupid. The only thing it ever accomplished was to create soldiers who didn't want to be where they were nor did they want to fight. You can't beat an all volunteer military for the simple fact that the vast majority of those who are there freely elected to be there. There are those who go in and sign their name on the dotted line for enlistment bonuses and schooling, and when the crap hits the fan, they say that isn't what they joined for. I say horse crap. You know that as a person in the military that if called, you will go. I think they should reinstate shooting deserters, but not reinstate the draft.

Answer 6

I don't know what world you live in but you are seriously disturbed. The rich and well connected are not exempt from serving in the military. In fact nobody HAS to and anybody CAN.
Why should college students be required? What are you trying to do drop the rate of college grads and up the rates of welfare recipients? Glad you are not one of our leaders, let me guess your not a college grad either, your a highschool dropout.

Answer 7

I think everyone who upon graduating from high school and not going on to college should be required to spend two years in service to his or her country. It doesn't have to be the military, it could be the Americorps, or Peace Corps or Habitat for Humanity or something like that. Seems to me it's a small price to pay for the right to live and succeed in this country.

Answer 8

The draft never went away it's called selective service now instead of a draft. The only thing that should be changed about it is women should just like me have to sign up for it at 18.

Answer 9

There will be no DRAFT
the unwilling, under educated, and unwashed, are unwanted in the military.
The draft talk is just a Democrap ploy up to frighten children into being anti-America as the Liberals are they want company in their hate for the USA
ARE you frightened

Answer 10

The draft doesn't work.

It also would contradict our status as a "free" country.

Edit: I'm so amused at all the people that think everyone should be required to spend two years in slavery in return for living in a "free" country.