In Defense of the Draft

Published on January 14, 2005 By stevendedalus In Politics

During the heat of the Presidential election, the possibility of a draft expended many kilobytes on JU. What disturbed me most, being a rancorous old man, was the ugly head that reared up against a citizen’s army. Some went so far as to suggest that the kids of the ‘greatest generation” were not as efficient in fighting as they are now. I suppose what is implied is that we then had the luxury of “overwhelming force” for which the taxpayer today is unwilling to support. Even if Americans were willing, a standing professional army of ten million cool guys and gals would engender a bureaucracy of carelessness and softness in peacetime, thus interfering with its ability to mobilize effectively during wartime.

The 17-19 year olds in WWII had never been tied to families on a military base — soldiers at war are not meant to be breadwinners. The call to arms accepted without the worry of how those at home would be cared for; these WWII kiddies were simply and efficiently gung ho.

http://stevendedalus.joeuser.com

Comments

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 14, 2005

Interesting perspective, Steven. Thanks for sharing it.

I limit my outspokenness regarding the draft at the moment, as I am too old for a draft, and my son is too young for it to be an imminent concern. But if my son grows up and chooses to be a conscientious objector in an age of conscription, I will support him to that end. Of course, I will equally support if he chooses to be a soldier, conscripted or not.

stevendedalus

on Jan 14, 2005

Hopefully, a CO like Lew Ayres [are you old enough for him?] and not Ali. Lew Ayres volunteered as a combat medic and carried no weapon.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 15, 2005

A CO is a CO. My only opinion on that is that, IF they refuse noncombat actions, they are willing to pay the penalty. Otherwise, the entire point of civil disobedience is lost.

From my own experience, I registered as a CO, but once strongly considered enlisting in a noncombat specialty in order to serve without having to worry about the possibility of a draft putting me in a position where I was less able to choose.

But, at any rate, I'll be proud of him whatever decisions he happens to make.

stevendedalus

on Jan 16, 2005

As a father myself, I concur.

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