wasn't there a democratic ploy before the last election in order to create a fear among young voters that if a republican was elected then they may be drafted??
wasn't there a democratic ploy before the last election in order to create a fear among young voters that if a republican was elected then they may be drafted??
That's not possible, is it? No democrat would ever lie in order to garner a few votes, would they? [/sarcasm]
Nope, won't happen. Would take a major face to face war, which probably won't happen, war can pretty much be fought remotely, unless its in the cities, like Iraq. The manpower issues are being resolved and we are fighting a two pronged front now with Iraq and Afganistan.
On a more reflective note . . . I wonder how much patriotism has drained out of our body politic over the years, squandered in the many ill-conceived foreign policy gambits our presidents have pursued and, stick with me here please, the disparagement of any noble motivations or purposes of politicians lavished on all things governmental by our jaded media? I think any move to reinstate a draft would have a tough up-hill slog, because there is not enough residual faith and confidence in our government for the general populace to invest the lives of their children in a military campaign. Speaking for myself, I would be very, very, very loathe torisk the life of my son in any of the military engagements I have seen us involved in for quite a number of years. A voluntary military getting involved? OK. When my son's life is on the line -- speaking of a hypothetical draft now -- I start getting very isolationist and very tough on what specific threats are extant, why we are shoring up what sleazy, self-aggrandizing nation-state, what the risks are in North Texas or Oklahoma, whether the engagement isn't a veiled attempt to protect American business interests abroad (lots more than oil involved here), why we are fomenting terrorism by our continued tilting of the playing field between Israel and Palestine, etc. When the hoardes cross the Red River, then maybe it is time to have my son get involved. That's the way I see it, and I imagine several will chide me for this view.
Continuing along this line of thought. Many people don't think very far along these lines, but isn't it possible that the masses might someday ask themselves, "What is my stake in this? My standard of living has declined substantially over the last 20 years of my life. What is meant by the term 'this is my country?' I'm renting my apartment -- I don't own that, so that is not 'my country.' I don't own a business. I'm just surviving, just getting by. What do I care who the bosses are? How is my interest damaged by either this foreign or this domestic engagement, and why should I or my children place their bodies in harms way to defend 'my country' ?" Now I'm not talking about myself here. I'm talking about others, lots of others, who feel they are on the short end of the economic stick. I think it is arguable that things are not run as if we are all in this together. What happens if the masses get smart some day and decide, screw this "we are all in this together" when if comes to fightin' and diein' but not when it comes to enjoying the benefits that flow from these sacrifices. At least partly, such a jaded attitude can flow from the foolish deeds of our politicians as well as the unsupported, back biting stories told by the media and by politicians about each other.
I think a draft would bring up so many of these kinds of thoughts and challenges that it would really be a big national problem. Not gonna happen.
I doubt that Americans would support a draft unless the (insert your preferred potential enemy here) are landing troops on Long Island.
Would be kind of interesting to see a law passed saying that any military action by the U.S. lasting more than 30 days would require a declaration of war and at that point a draft would be put into effect.
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"Shoot him again....his soul is still dancing"
the draft
