Reinstating the Draft A great man by the name of Thomas Jefferson once said, “Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.” Thomas Jefferson was a very intelligent man and would not have said something like this if he had no logic or reasoning behind it. Personally, I do not completely agree with this specific statement that he made. I agree that during the times of the Greek and Roman Empire that every citizen was a soldier, but I don’t think it needs to be that way now. Even though there are American forces attending to crises across the globe, I do not think that the United States needs a severe more amount of soldiers in its military. I do not believe that the United states should increase the size of the military by reinstating the mandatory draft because there are enough citizens that volunteer as it is, there is no war currently going on that requires more soldiers, and because many of the young men that got drafted couldn’t handle the mental part of being in a war. …show more content…
Because so many people volunteer for the military, a draft isn’t necessary because we would have plenty more soldiers than we needed. And if we had too many soldiers, the government would be spending millions and millions of dollars that would just be wasted on soldiers that are never even going to see an actual battlefield. There would be no point in training this many soldiers if they’re never going to use the skills that they attain while being at a military
..., the draft ended and the U.S. converted to an All-Volunteer military. Many people were not in high spirits about the Vietnam War, and thought we should not be involved in it. Lyndon Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, laments “[w]e are not about to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves” (Vietnam-Facts.info). There is a popular picture of a draft protests sign displaying the words “hell no, we won’t go.” I do believe Americans should have a right to choose to go to war or not. Many young men lost their life fighting a battle they didn’t even have faith in. Many soldiers endured personal hardships, loss of income, and leaving family behind. Most of drafted soldiers complied with the draft and served; however, many middle to high-class young men found ways to avoid combat.
Therefore, if the majority of the nation isn’t going to do anything to be proud of, why should they have the chance to do anything? Well if we are going to make young Americans serve to protect this country to keep it free from the horrors of the world, we as citizens should take notice and appreciate it and live life to its fullest potential and make something of ourselves. The draft may be something that would be very beneficial to the American society, it may be just
I never thought I would say this but I think we should reinstate the draft. It has been years since we have wanted or needed a draft, but in view of the United States being attacked on September 11, 2001, I feel our country must be ready and prepared to defend itself. If being prepared means reinstating the draft, a mandatory summons for military service, then I think we should consider this a reasonable proposal. I think the tragic events of September 11 will evoke most people to agree with me. Since September 11 we have seen a surge of patriotism in this country that seemed hidden for many years. I am so glad patriotism was not lost, and I think most Americans would be willing to defend their country in light of this attack. We are a nation and a people who believe in freedom and democracy. It tells other nations who we are and what we stand for. It is these beliefs that lead me to believe that the people of the United States will do anything to preserve our freedom and democracy even if it means reinstating the draft. I want to prove this notion, but am unsure how to accomplish this. I have not read any recent articles in newspapers or magazines that have dealt with this issue. My textbook was not a source either. So I decided to do two things. First, I went to the Internet for any information, articles, discussions, or statements relating to this issue. Second, I decided to conduct an informal poll. This informal poll consisted of male and female respondents with an age span of eighteen to sixty two. My poll started with classmates in my Western Civilization and Studio Art classes and the professors who instruct these classes. My poll included emailing friends and family who live and work in New York, family currently serving in the Armed Forces, and a family member who is a Veteran of the Viet Nam War. Also included in this poll is a random sampling of the townspeople of Los Alamos. Medical personnel at Los Alamos Women’s Health Services, and the lunch crowd at Café’ Allegro rounded out my poll. This cross section of Americans evoked many feelings and opinions and stimulated many conversations and critical thought. These conversations exhilarated me and the results I obtained amazed me.
“First, conscription doesn’t save much cash. It costs money to manage and enforce a draft- history demonstrates that not every inductee would go quietly. Conscripts serve shorter terms and reenlist less frequently, increasing turnover, which is expensive. And unless the government instituted a Czarist lifetime draft, everyone beyond the first ranks would continue to expect to be paid” (Forbes). Even though “The military not only provides training in a range of specialties; it also offers educational benefits for veterans-- including many from underprivileged back grounds-- that might not be available under a mandatory
Simply put, the United States has no need for a draft. As of December 31, 2013 the United States has the second largest military in the world according to the Department of Defense. The largest military in the world is China’s People’s Liberation Army which is also all voluntary. The People’s Liberation Army consists of approximately 2,300,000 members. As of the end of 2013, the United States military consisted of approximately ...
There are plenty of arguments for why the draft is wrong and unlawful, or even unconstitutional. When it comes down to basics, sending people involuntarily to war does sound pretty far from freedom of choice, but there is more to it than that. Understanding that it is a free country is one thing, but freedom comes at a price. Everyone wants to be free but not everyone realizes that there are times when we must fight to maintain our well-earned freedom. It is impossible in some cases to fight a full- blown war with just a volunteer army, and if it threatens our freedom, than we must fight the war with volunteers and draftees alike. In technicality, it may be wrong, but realistically, there are many times when a draft really is needed, and if run the correct way, it can be very effective.
Yet we continue to stick with the all volunteer force. General Stanley A. McChrystal, former commander of the international forces in Afghanistan, states “ I think if a nation goes to war, every town, every city needs to be at risk,”.What Gen. McChrystal was arguing was that if we get involved in a war that the whole country should be involved, not just the select few who want to be involved. Then author Thomas E. Ricks argues that when Gen. McChrystal spoke that it was the first time that a high a high profile military Officer has spoken out against the AVF, (all volunteer force)(Ricks). This just goes to show that even our military personnel agree that we need a stronger military. If we revise the draft we should include males and females ages 18 to 35, this would increase the size of our military tremendously. They all don't necessarily have to go to war either, Their are plenty of other government jobs they can do. For example, paperwork, and driving high military personnel around. Now with professional soldiers freed from low skills jobs we can now have more troops to protect our country
An accountant might not be very great at shooting an aiming, but he will help the government budget the money to purchase more guns and weapons. Then again, a renound marksman would be better in combat, or even someone who went to a state shooting event and won over the whole state. Any one in shooting sports in fact! They'd be good at aiming and hitting. Someone with people skills could communicate for the army, but maybe she can't do the technical stuff of getting radio signals enough to make the phone calls and emails. The draft eliminates the ability for Americans to choose, and they are forced to serve in the military, when if they had a choice they might pick something still very helpful, but not dangerous or completely obnoxious for them. By reinstating the draft the government would kill the freedom of choice, everyone has a relatable skill set that could in some way benefit the government or military. So if the draft did come back, maybe they could change it so you can pick which job you'd like to train
Generally, reinstating the Constitutional draft would solidify the meaning of being an American citizen. Often, wealthier and more privileged people are able to ask for exemption from serving, which makes representation of soldiers in combat composed of less-privileged citizens. With compulsory conscription, all American citizens, men or women, ages 18-26 are subject to be recruited for the armed forces. In fact, only 4 members of the 107th Congress who voted in favor of the Iraq war had children serving there. Politicians would know how it feels to have loved ones in a war, instead of freely speaking about wartime without experiencing it in any way.1 Moreover, Americans feel that public support for war in foreign countries is not strong because the soldiers fighting are p...
There is a Time and a place for everything, for instance there were times when a militarized force wasn’t nearly large enough for an impending war as necessary to stand even that of a fighting chance towards victory. Our nation’s solution to this problem was creating the military draft, which most recently was used during the Vietnam War. The military draft, or Selective Service System, is Conscription, or in other words “forced labor demanded by some established authority” (Worddiq). “From 1948 until 1973, during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces which could not be filled through voluntary means.” (Landscaper) 2/3 of the American troops entered in that war were volunteers, while the other third were all draftees by lottery by birth. (Roush) Some might say "hey that’s only one third of our military, that’s not too many draftees." The only problems with that statement would be that the war itself didn't move towards our favor even with the draft. The draftees went through a rushed training session and entered a battlefield with nearly no experience what-so-ever, on or off the battlefield.
Therefore, with that pressure more people should be volunteering for the military, but of course they aren’t. Which suggests that reinstating the draft would be a good idea. With more soldiers, we could handle many more conflicts and situations since we could spread the military out and have them dealing with different situations at once. Not only that, but if a war were to suddenly start, we would have the numbers needed to be successful in the war. In almost any aspect, reinstating the draft has no disadvantages. It would only make our country's military stronger and more prepared. I also believe that reinstating the draft would bring the country together. If more people were fighting in the war then more people would care about it since they are personally affected by it. Therefore, I think it would draw the nation together as a whole, Clearly, reinstating the draft would be beneficial because it would create a bigger military that could solve more problems at once, prepare us for any sudden wars, and draw the nation
...itary conscription in the name of freedom is an illegitimate, criminal organization. A government that is willing to enslave people cannot be trusted to protect your liberty. A government that forces people to fight for its goals, its protection, and its benefit has created a morally perverse situation where there is no free society left to defend” (Boldin). Another thing we must look at is without an overflow of troops; “unpopular wars are very difficult to fight. The ability to use conscription actually encourages politicians to wage even more wars;the massive resources are a temptation that is hard for the war-lover to resist. When the draft was finally undermined in the 1970′s, for example, the Vietnam War ended” (Boldin).
Conscription would decrease the crime rate, because the soldiers would have been taught to be disciplined. Additionally there would be a significant decline in obesity, because exercise would be a daily task in the training camps and therefore form to a routine and finally become a habit. By doing so a healthy soldier would promote others, such as a female companion, to do the same. Spending time with other cadets extensively strengthens loyalty, brotherhood, patriotism and thus creates a sense of purpose. As a result, there would be less treacherous behavior amongst these youthful men. Conscription also establishes a sense of real equality in the States, because currently mostly minorities and poor citizens join the armed forces “voluntarily” and thus leaves a big gap of white rich men. Just like Charles Rangel, U.S. Representative for New York 's 13th congressional district said, “I believe that if we are going to send our children to war, the governing principle must be that of shared sacrifice. Through much of our history, Americans have been asked to shoulder the burden of war equally, a renewed draft will help bring a greater appreciation of the consequences of decisions to go to war.” I
When a person is drafted into war, they don’t really have a choice. It can be seen as a life or death situation, however the reality is the situation between what is socially acceptable. It’s in human nature to protect oneself from harm. Rational people would not willingly put oneself in danger. Who wants to die for an unknown cause? Being drafted into war is shocking. No one thinks it’s going to happen to them. The best solution out seems to be to run away. Running away from any impending danger. Running is considered cowardly. What keeps most away from this simple solution is the fear of shame. Embarrassment and ridicule are the strongest motivators. Humans are social animals. They look upon each other to do what is acceptable. They are raised to
Our generation has a bigger fight than the “Greatest Generation.” We are fighting a war with an ideology, not a government. We are fighting a group of people who hate us because of our love for freedom. If a draft is part of the American fabric, we should be leery of it. But at the same time, if we don’t have the men to fight this war, we will lose our way of life, a way of life that may never be regained.