Should we bring back the draft?

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272246.post-64050216381378235582007-03-15T01:08:00.000-07:002007-04-23T18:23:04.178-07:00Should we bring back the draft?If you watched "60 Minutes" on Sunday, you heard Andy Rooney say something that's undoubtedly brought him a ton of abuse; that, although he never thought he'd be saying it, since in order to fill our quotas for new troops we're having to "lower the bar" and accept those with criminal records or without high school degrees, we should bring back the draft in order to have a higher quality of soldier. He based this opinion on his own military service, and his bad memories of men of these "lower types" who served with him; he considered them to be poor soldiers, and even poorer examples of Americans for foreigners to base their ideas of what we're like on. Should American military personnel provide a positive example of what Americans are like? Ideally, yes, absolutely, and many of them DO, but that's not part of their job description; their job is to kill people and destroy things, not to be masters of etiquette. It's a moot point, though, because every country has already formed an opinion of us from American tourists, who are legendary for being loud, rude, pushy, badly dressed, and disrespectful of locals and their customs; imagine what lengths a soldier would have to go to to make a WORSE impression... and the average tourist tends to be educated, as those are the folks who can afford to travel abroad, which disproves the idea that an educated person is a superior representative of America. Plus, call me crazy, but I'd RATHER have the less educated, less productive members of society being used as cannon fodder... especially since they're OFFERING to do it. And what other choices do these folks have? What kinds of jobs will they have to work for their entire lives without high school diplomas? Why should they be denied the opportunity to, not only serve their country, which should be EVERY able-bodied person's right if they so choose, but to do more with their lives than wash dishes or push a broom? They can get free education and training, and they and their families can receive all sorts of benefits, if they join up, and that may well be the only way they can find a better life for themselves and their kids; if they're willing to go into a war zone to earn those things, why should we refuse them? I'm of a similar mind where those with criminal records are concerned, assuming we can trust that serial killers and child molesters aren't being allowed to enlist; if they've got the patriotic urge to serve their country rather than continue being scumbags, shouldn't we ENCOURAGE that? Same thing goes for if they're trying to rejoin decent society, have discovered that no one will hire them, and go to the military recruitment office as their only chance to make a living honestly; should we tell them to go back to the streets and sell some more drugs or rob some more liquor stores rather than cheering their willingness to risk DEATH in order to live honorable lives and provide for their families? I'm not suggesting that they let anyone DANGEROUS join up, for the obvious reasons, but it's not like they think that their criminal careers will be enhanced if they enlist, so unless they're raving lunatics their intentions are likely to be as good as anyone else's... and I'd sure rather THEY were cannon fodder than draftees. Besides, didn't they at least USED to give people convicted of certain sorts of offenses the choice between prison and the army in some states? Wasn't the idea that military service would square them away, build character, and make them into good citizens... and that boot camp is so rough that it's punishment enough? It seems like you could make a case for, not just LETTING people with certain sorts of criminal records into the military, but adopting a nationwide policy of offering the army as an alternative to prison for a wide range of offenses; it'd probably be cheaper for the taxpayer (it's expensive to keep someone locked up), we'd be GETTING something for our $, prison crowding would be reduced, and the erstwhile criminals would be getting straightened out rather than meeting up with worse criminals in jail and becoming more hardened and anti-social. Would you get a better quality of soldier with the draft than by letting those from the "lower echelons" enlist? Of course. Is that the highest goal, the best choice for America? No... and to my mind, that's gotta be the deciding factor. With all due respect to Andy Rooney, I think we should give those at the bottom of the heap a chance to improve themselves (or die with honor) before we yank productive citizens from their lives and force them to go to war. I'll leave you with a little humor: 1st, there's a crazy calf in India that's been killing and eating chickens, possibly to alleviate a mineral deficiency: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070307/od_nm/india_cow_dc 2nd, here's one you'll have to see to believe; a dog who masturbates like a man, standing on 2 legs and pulling his erection with his paws... and he's ignoring the little female he was supposed to be mating with to do it!! I don't know if this counts as pornographic, or if it's safe for work, but it's a jaw-dropper: http://www.uselessjunk.com/article_full.php?id=18703Omnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535142570254270177noreply@blogger.com