I
I am glad someone has said this:
We are, of course, not supposed to say such things, as they “just” criticize the working class kids who are coereced into signing up for this war. People without the information or the resources to refuse, people who live next door, people who are not proud of what they have done. And war, it is said, creates criminals, especially when conducted by countries which believe in “deregulation.”
That, of course, does not explain how these people, and these, came to realize they should, and could resist. Nor does it address the problem of bringing the violence home.
And, with regard to empathy for our suffering soldiers, consider what Joyce Marcel has to say about John Brown. That is actual empathy, not mere sentimentality, and we are thanking Dave for the link.
II
Given the class oppression which inheres in the current system of recruiting soldiers, and the all reluctance of our government to leave Iraq, do you think it would be fairer, and more functional, to institute a universal draft? I say no, it will only encourage the government, enable a still longer occupation, and put yet another nail into the coffin of what this country could of been. More war propaganda would have to be generated, and the level of national delusion would only increase.
Consider, however, the argments in favor of a draft: 1. End an important classist aspect of this war. 2. With enough actual military personnel do cooking, laundry, vehicle repair, reduce corruption by dumping Halliburton, KBR, and similar contractors. 3. Bring greater national attention to the whole thing. Generate so much opposition that we just have to quit.
What do you think? The more I consider it, the worse it looks as an idea: they would probably shoot the protestors, and use the Army itself to round up recalcitrant recruits. The rest of the world would look on and not know what to do. What, then, can be done about the way in which the present system of military recruiting exploits the poor, and enables many of us to ignore, to a large extent, the disasters in whose creation we participate?
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
Suggestion: address the inequalities at home which lead to the poor and uneducated joining the forces and fighting for God, America and ‘mocracy. But, of course, that won’t happen because of vested interest and the concentration of power in the hands of the politically and morally corrupt. I am in Mississippi at the moment – ’nuff said?
Agreed on all counts, Charlie! And given all that, very hard to figure out what to do beyond grass roots efforts to ameliorate these inequalities. Do the people have the power to address structural inequality? I am not sure. And it seems to be very difficult in this particular country.
In any case, shout-out to MS – a state I always thought I would find weird, but which, when I finally met it, I liked!
I’m all for a draft being reinstated. In this way, if the government gets involved in a war where the U.S. is truly threatened, SOLID evidence will have to be presented to the American people to justify the war. If the facts aren’t good enough and just propaganda, people will rise up and resist instead of being so damn apathetic and believing everything they see on CNN, the biggest propaganda machine known to man-or aliens for that matter.
Remember how all the great leaders (Alexander the Great, Napoleon, etc.) went and fought along side WITH their men? I say reinstate that too. Only truly brave men and not just WASP puppets will dare to run for political office.
Goldilocks
Yes – these are the reasons I’ve thought of it, exactly. But I think we shouldn’t reinstate the draft unless we also reinstate the fighting role of the leaders. Otherwise they may just spirit their own kids to Canada and sweep the rest of us into troop transport – or am I too pessimistic? –Z