Made the Paper
Draft?
Opinion
In these trying times, in which our president is sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan many Americans are wondering whether or not we will reinstate a draft. This was recently debated in a New York Times "upfront" magazine edition. Mark Finelli, a Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, and Conservative Congressman, Ron Paul of Texas face off. They give great insight for both sides of the debate.
Corporal Finelli is in favor of the U.S. reinstating the draft. He argues that there is a "...serious talent deficiency... America's bravest are in Afghanistan, but our brightest are not." There is one detail Corporal Finelli fails to realize, and that's that most University bound students will use a student deferment or exemption. Meaning the soonest these braniacs will be seen in training clothes will be four years from the time a draft will be reinstated in most cases. Obama expects to pull out 150,000 troops in 2011, three years from now. Finelli also desires this war to be "... more discomforting to the average American than just bad news on TV." Now don't get me wrong, I support the troops and understand the hardships a family will encounter with their loved one fighting in war, but isn't a general goal of a country in war to help its citizens feel secure?
Congressman Ron Paul says, " If we draft men and women to fight wars and preserve liberty we are sadly mistaken." He is right. The idea that we should strip a person of their rights to preserve that very idea is a contradiction in itself. To force a person against their will would abandon the morals that our framers sought out for. As a former member of the Air Force, Congressman Paul says, "most members of the military oppose a draft because they know there's a vast difference between serving alongside another volunteer and a reluctant conscript." This point is a critical one in this debate. Would you rather fight with a man willing to place his life at risk for his country or a man that is simply doing his time as if it were a prison sentence?