I'm not sure if any of you have heard about this yet, but I just read about this. If a proposed new draft law passes, the draft will be reinstated/activated in 2005, and the proposed law seems like it will be passed shortly. "These active bills have been submitted to the committee on armed services, and pending passage, the program will allow activation of the draft in the spring of 2005. Presumably in preparation, the Selective Service System has received a $28 million increase in its budget and has begun to advertise over 20 thousand positions nationwide in order to fill the draft and appeals boards(3)." If the law passes, people from ages 17 - 27 will be drafted. This new draft law includes women and all students. In addition to this, the president may choose who will be exempt from the draft, which most likely means his buddies in the large corporations wont have to send their sons or daughters off to war: "Interestingly, the president is provided with the authority to determine who serves in a military versus a civilian capacity. Given the current administration's unashamed favoritism towards corporate and political allies, it is unclear how this national draft guarantees protection for the have-nots from the wartime needs of the haves." The draft also includes foreign nationals who are resident aliens here. http://mit.edu/thistle/www/v16/1/draft.html
I know when the draft is reinstated that all students will be eligable for call, but do you really think women will be called? After all, as far as conservatives are concerned in general, women are not capable enough to kill. Of course, perhaps they will be called to serve food and work in the hospitals... why? because I guess that's what women are supposed to do.
The bill in that article which is referenced is an old bill, and has since been shot down by Congress. Though the bill was shot down, it doesn't mean there won't be a draft if and when we are attacked again.
We've been reading articles about the draft in English, some old ones from a few years ago...I'm not quite sure why' we're reading them...but it's interesting. The most interesting Article that we read, I think, was the one about the Alternative Service Draft. You'd spend an ammount of time cleaning up litter, helping the homeless, whatever...I think it was 2 years. Anyway...none of the people in my class really liked it. I mean, sure, it had some kinks here and there, I think...but in general it was a good idea.
Outside of taxes or jailtime most citizens don't spend a minute thinking about their environment or their own impact upon the society we live in. Americans for the most part are utterly self centered and cushioned from their own actions. An idea like this can't be presented, of course, without having at least a slight socialist tinge, but what's really wrong with it? Onto the MILITARY draft. Get ready Fathers and Mothers to send your kids off to be meat shields. Once we start getting a larger influx of returning vets from Iraq people will get an even clearer picture in a very real way. "Shit, he's sitting at the kitchen table now and describing it, I can't eat anymore". Don't think that recruitment is going to go up.
