2/16 The other day, someone on MOTD suggested a mandatory draft in USA
as a sort of social lesson for everyone. Here is a commentary by
Daniel Schorr on what is the real issue behind President Bush's
National Guard record. It vividly display one of the acute
problem with mendatory draft:
http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1678830
\_ Here is a comment on mAndatory service rather than the link above.
The problem with mandatory service is that the only big contries
built on it have been dictatorships, communist or otherwise.
\_ rest deleted because it was too stupid to live.
\_ Hello, modern-day Germany has mandatory service.
\_ Yes and they're progressively getting rid of it, because
various studies have shown it to be a great place to
introduce impressionable adolescents to drugs and neo-
nazis. Also, usually, becoming an officer in European
armies is voluntary, but requires a huge time commitment-
most modern empoyers frown on this, meaning that 'shit
floats'. Lastly, most democratic countries with a draft
have either gotten rid of it, or are in the process of
doing so. It's expensive, it takes a huge social toll,
and doesn't create a terribly good military (Germany's army
has some _incredible_ problems.) Don't forget that the US
had a draft until the 70s; most of the smart people (plus
Bush) got out of it, meaning you ended up sending the
underclass off to war--against their wills. Modern-day
conscript forces are clunky, usually undertrained,
underfunded, highly incapable, and thoroughly unsuited
to modern warfare. Look at the Swiss army, one-time
example of quality--it's a complete joke nowadays. The
only working examples of conscript armies are those in
countries under direct military threat (e.g. Israel) where
most people see the need for large-scale participation in
defence. I don't see the Mexican army massing at our
southern borders anytime soon, do you? -John
\_ Mexico is already sending thousands across the boarder
every night. If that isn't an invasion, I don't know
what is.
\_ And 90% of Canada's population is massed within 100
miles of the US border! They _must_ be preparing to
invade!
\_ They've already invaded, but no one cares b/c
they already "look" american and speak the king's
english.
\_ Bloody monarchists! Who elected Elizabeth
queen?
Kennedy's appeal to young people's idealism is a classic populist
sound bite that perverts the fundamental premise of liberal
democracy, namely that the government serves at the pleasure of the
electorate and operates within the boundary of a robust legal
system. Having the people labor at the mercy and command of the
state in the name of sacrificing for their country, and commandeer
their time and property is, well, you know what it is.
\_ They've already invaded, but no one cares b/c
they already "look" american and speak the king's
english.
\_ Bloody monarchists! Who elected Elizabeth
queen?
\_ <insert Monty Python's Holy Grail reference
here>
\_ What, the curtains?
\_ She was elected?
\_ Hey, good way to ignore our completely open
borders and make a mockery of an important issue.
\_ Oh, that's right, I'm supposed to take your
"Barbarians are at the gates!" line seriously.
Relax, boyo, they're not here for any job that
you want, and we'll boot them if they dare to
organize or demand human rights.
\_ Yeah anything outside your little ivory
tower world just isn't important. We must
mock that which we disagree with because we
have no other points.
\_ I wrote the original draft post. Although realistically a
strict military draft isn't the way to go, I still think a
program of public service could be designed in such a way as to
be beneficial. It wouldn't really be a draft per se. There are
a lot of different types of service other than "military
grunt." It would have to be incentivized in ways other than
oppressive force. Related to the "underclass", with the current
system I often hear stories of poor people who feel forced into
the army economically. Some woman in the South Carolina debate
I think gave a sob story about that, about her son who died in
Iraq. The gov't TV ads emphasize learning job skills and
getting money for college, not getting killed by Arabs. So that
issue is still present even without a draft. [formatd]
\_ by Arabs, or Bosnians, or Somalis, or Nigerians, or Afghanis,
or North Koreans, or Palestinians, or Kuwaitis, or anyone
else I've forgotten that's been shot at or shooting at any
Americans in the last few years.
\_ Just admit that you're afraid to fight for your country. Then
truly appreciate those that are less fortunate than you, enough
to lose their lives so that you can go on.
\_ I'll fight for my country. I'll fight to make sure it doesn't
end up in the hands of boneheads like you.
\_ What was boneheaded about it? Is everyone posting on drugs
today? Is this backwards day or what? |
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