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August 23, 2004
Uncle Sam wants you…French manicures and all
As Election Day looms, it’s becoming more apparent those whispers heard on Capitol Hill a few months ago had more substance than most would like to admit.
As of last year, several bills were introduced to Congress that if passed, would bring back the military draft.
The Senate version of the legislation indicates its purpose is “to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.”
The quest to conquer “Operation Oil” has conjured up another bright idea, which may call for your bright-eyed and bushy-tailed presence on the old Bush bandwagon. This past April, Senator Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., delivered a zealous speech at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on post-occupation Iraq.
According to Hagel, all Americans should be involved in the grand effort to subdue the enemy. “Why shouldn’t we ask all of our citizens to bear some responsibility and pay some price?” Hagel argued.
If Hagel had his way, restoring the draft would “force our citizens to understand the intensity and depth of challenges we face.”
As far as Hagel is concerned, somewhere between the Lone Ranger and Bonanza, we missed the boat and Care Bears infiltrated our little hearts and minds. Evidently, a return to the good old days of “bang, bang you’re dead” is just what the Bush administration wants and very few of us would be exempt. Anyone ages 18-26 would be “fair game” and in this wonderful new world of equality, women could be expected to shave their heads along with the men and join the big brother’s blowout.
Nevertheless, insanity need not prevail. Libertarian presidential candidate Aaron Russo has launched a petition addressed to President Bush, Vice President Cheney and members of the House and Senate. It states: “We, the undersigned, being citizens of the United States, protest against this infringement upon our personal freedoms and reject this idea of a new draft.”
Russo’s petition claims the government is hoping to reinstate the draft, saying, “we have troops scattered throughout 130 countries around the world, and the ranks of our military must be increased,” he says, “to continue the current pursuit of empire building.”
Last fall, media shed light on the fact that the Selective Service System had posted a notice on their web site stating that the agency was looking for people to serve on local draft boards. Since then, the appeal has been revised to assure the public that “there is NO connection between this ongoing, routine public outreach to compensate for natural board attrition and current international events.”
Both the president and the secretary of defense have stated on several occasions that a draft is not needed for the war on terrorism. Given the state of affairs, one may wonder why such clarification wasn’t offered prior to the uproar.
In light of this, Libertarian commentators are convinced the government is, in effect, setting the stage so that if the draft is reinstated, conscription can begin as swiftly as possible.
Welcome to reality, folks. It’s been forty-three years since we had our last dose in Vietnam. Maybe it’s about time we had a refresher course, and Senator Hagel could teach us all a few things about the glories of presidential whims.
In all fairness, Hagel did make a valid point in terms of who should really be engaged in this war. He mentioned that reinstating the draft would at least allow the burden of military service to be spread among all economic classes of people. “Those who are serving today and dying today are the middle class and lower middle class,” he said.
Why spare the spoiled, Martini-guzzling brats of Daddy Warbucks, Inc.? Come to think of it, why spare Jenna and Barbara Bush? In that case, the end just might justify the means.
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