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Impact of military service on society
Impact of military service on society
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“Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time.” This quote from Lyndon B. Johnson accurately describes the pinnacle of what I believe could be the perfect utopia. To united against the common evils of the world and realize what it means to know peace. This cannot and never will be the case if the draft is reinstated into United States’ law. We, simply put, the most powerful country that the world has ever known. Our vast resources and our resolve has allowed us to surpass any countries’ economy, culture and wealth. And of course, an attribute of civility must go along with this marvelous, modernized country, right? I would certainly ascertain as much, but those with smaller mental capacities seem to think that …show more content…
This all goes hand in hand with the face that we are civilized. Humans have never attained the amount of knowledge and experience that we have today; being such that we have discovered the true beauties and monsters of the world. We, as privileged Americans tend to look at, and appreciate the beauties of life. Love, happiness, a full plate at dinner time are among some of the things that have become taken for granted in comfortable American society. We are above war and the issues and wrongness that it presents. Killing people is wrong and time after time, we have observed senseless violence of issues of little importance, such as the start of World War 1. An entire massacre of people danced a beautifully, macabre pirouette around the assassination of Prince Ferdinand. Such folly of people with short tempers. My views on the draft are as such: we as a society, are above war, violence and poverty. In hindsight, we should not even have, in our heightened state of social structure, any military at all. So then obviously, reinstating the draft would be another daft idea of power hungry
Friendship is a necessity throughout life whether it is during elementary school or during adulthood. Some friendships may last a while and some may last for a year; it depends on the strength of the bond and trust between the two people. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the main characters, Gene and Finny, did not have a pure friendship because it was driven by envy and jealousy, they did not feel the same way towards each other and they did not accurately understand each other.
The novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles describes the life highschool life of Gene Forrester through the flashbacks he experienced 15 years after his graduation. Throughout the novel Knowles takes us on a journey that revolves around Gene and his friend Finny as they go through their years in a private high school. While reading the novel one can see that Gene takes his hero journey during his highschool time as he makes the choices that will dictate not only his hero journey but his entire life.
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.
Many people in the 1960s and early 1970s did not understand why the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. Therefore, they had no desire to be a part of it. The Selective Service System, which was used to conduct the draft, had aspirations of directing people into areas where they were most needed during wartime. However, people took advantage of the draft system’s deferment policies to avoid going to war. Others refused induction or simply did not register. There were also people who left the country to escape the draft. The Vietnam War proved to be an event that many Americans did not agree with, and as a result, citizens took action to elude the draft entirely or to beat the draft system.
“Through out most of their history, Americans freely defended their nation from threats both domestic and foreign. Only in their greatest conflicts - the Civil War, World War I, and the lead - up to World War II” (Forbes) they had to implement the draft. A draft, "called conscription in most countries, is the process by which the United States has, in the past, gathered members of its military. Generally, a man called to serve through the draft would serve for two to four years" (Rich). "Toward the end of the increasingly-unpopular Vietnam War, President Nixon led efforts to end the draft and create an all-volunteer military"(Nyden).
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 ...
In today's society we face various threats to our nation, some of these threats are foreign as well as domestic. One of the biggest threats America faces today is terrorism. Is the United States strong enough to face that threat? Why take that risk. We should bring back the draft, and bringing back the draft would help America’s economy as well as its society as a whole.
The article also says the draft should be reinstated because, “More than 53,000 have been wounded, many narrowly survived by the miracle of modern medicine” (Rangel 1). Representative Rangel makes a very valid point but reinstatement of the draft would go against our constitutional right of freedom of religion because the 10 commandments state that “Thou shall not commit murder” (Exodus 20:13). Also the draft should not be reinstated because it is very unfair and will still be unfair because, “During the draft era, well connected parents got their sons into the reserves or less hazardous active duty”(Ruschmann 62) this would most definitely carry on to now because nobody wants their son to serve in the military. The armed forces prefer volunteers more than draftees because volunteers have “Chosen to accept the military’s culture of obedience and selflessness” (Ruschmann 41). Statistically proven ,all volunteer military has been the best force in American
Power, the perception of superiority over another human, is the source of many conflicts between people. Feeling inferior causes people to act beyond their normal personality. John Knowles strongly demonstrates this point in his work, A Separate Peace. In the relationship between Finny and Gene, Gene sets himself up to be inferior in the balance of power which motivates him to act irrationally to take power back from Finny.
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
Throughout time, there has been debate about security and liberty. Many would agree that having both is vital to having a democracy. However, during desperate times, the government might place security or liberty on a higher pedestal and this can be beneficial or detrimental to the society. In the particular case where a country goes to war and the government orders a draft, the true significance of the debate between security and liberty is brought to light. Especially, in a circumstance where the government enacts laws ordering those who protest anti-war and anti-draft views to be thrown in jail, facing long jail sentences. In this case, the government is placing the security of the citizens above their liberties. If this is the right decision for the government to make and if this will have negative consequences on the society is what is being considered. Security is necessary, especially when a country is at war, but ignoring the people’s liberties is placing the values and principles in which democracy was built, at risk. In addition, placing security above liberty causes chaos, rebellion, and riots within the country and the last thing a country needs while trying to fight a war is chaos within their country. People in society with restricted liberties will begin to feel fear, anger, and hatred for the country. As a result, they become disloyal. A combination on disorder and disloyalty can be detrimental in times of war. Therefore, while security is imperative, undermining citizen’s liberties threatens the structure of the democracy by creating chaos and disloyal citizens.
...e unnecessary moneymakers, products of lies and deception behind the scenes, orchestrated by powerful and rich men who usually never suffer but, rather, gain from their machinations to create war. I support a National Service Obligation system that would draft all persons, at age 18, to serve for 18 months in some form of public service. This would allow American citizens to contribute to the country in different ways. But it should be one?s own decision how to contribute to the country. As said before, I believe that reinstating the military draft will not increase patriotism or a sense of duty, but will rather decrease the effectiveness of the military and will create huge protest feeling among country?s citizens. Therefore we should explore every possible way to contribute the country?s future instead of just putting our future and ourselves in the Meat Grinder.
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...
...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