Thomas E. Ricks has an Op-Ed in the NYT calling for a return to the draft. Building on Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s recent statements calling for a reinstatement of conscription, Ricks provides a three tiered system. In essence, those who were drafted would have one of three options: (1) support services in the military for 18 months, without deployment; (2) national service in a non-military capacity for a somewhat longer period of time, or (3) the ability for libertarians to “opt out.” The final option is worth a quote:
And libertarians who object to a draft could opt out. Those who declined to help Uncle Sam would in return pledge to ask nothing from him — no Medicare, no subsidized college loans and no mortgage guarantees. Those who want minimal government can have it.
Assuming that libertarians would not be required to pay the taxes to support anything above minimal government, this option would be quite attractive. Indeed, one only wishes that this option could be available in the absence of Ricks’ plan to reinstate involuntary servitude.
Yeah dis is a good idea. Esp for rich libertarian people like me because I dont need to rely on the govt provided things I would be opting out from. I love this plan, because this way we can still have our wars and then the rich people can opt out from participating from them, that’s nothing like the way it is now!
If the taxes are alleviated, I’d take that option NOW after already having served in the military.
If this should come to pass, expect an explosion in the numbers of people calling themselves libertarian, especially if there were an alleviation of those taxes. Unfortunately, when most of them run into difficult times somewhere down the road, their hands would be out again and all would have been for naught.
Another problem I have is even though I can’t think of all the potential slippery slope issues that would generate from allowing the government to turn us into slaves, even temporarily, there is the issue of precedent and expansion of such powers, and a narrowing of the opt-out clauses later on.
If you support endless war, this is a great idea. I am all in.
If ever there were an argument for reinstituting a draft, it is the attitude of the proponents of this idea: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20120705/NEWS01/207050304/Families-asking-money-you-didn-t-send-kids-war?odyssey=tab&nclick_check=1
Apparently these people know no history. If you had the money, you could avoid service in the civil war by hiring a substitute for $300. It was shameful then and shameful now. The smug and self serving assertion that their children are doing “social justice work” (as interpreted by them, of course) and that this work should be equated with serving in the military one would hope would be self-defeating. However, driven by the need to raise money for returning wounded (I guess) the military organizations and newspapers are all on board with this.
What happens to those who don’t have the money to buy their way out is not addressed. I can’t believe this is not getting more attention. Talk about class warfare.
In July, 1969 after three years in college majoring in wine, women and song, I was drafted into Military Service. As a middle-class white kid from comfortable circumstances, I stood out amongst my fellow trainees at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri because the vast majority of those in my unit hailed from fields, mills, mines and ghettos.
That Draft was a disgrace because it was corrupt to the core. Anyone with connections and an ability to stay in college could avoid military service completely or at the very least find spots in local Guard or Reserve units.
I added a year to my service after induction so I could go to OCS. I wouldn’t trade my three years of undistinguished but fulfilling accomplishments for all of the money in the world because that experience has stayed with me since. I have many friends who never served. Some of them have mentioned that they wished they had because they feel guilty and empty for not serving.
It is not that Vietnam was right and just and if more people had supported it that we would be more successful. The Vietnam War was a major calamity in our nation’s history. Very few would argue with this.
The problem is that our current military is mercenary. There is no broad cross-section of America youth involved. There is no doubt that the Vietnam War would have concluded much sooner if every Senator, Congressman and CEO of a major corporation had a son alongside those from the aforementioned fields, mills, mines and ghettos.
I agree that a re-institution of the draft could be a means to inspire kids coming out of high school to look at citizenship as more than some empty, high sounding term but instead as becoming part of a collective civic endeavor.
My proposed draft would exempt no one except for medical reasons. One year of service would begin immediately after high school graduation or attaining the age of eighteen whichever is later. College would be delayed for one year because there would be no deferments.
The first three months would consist of physical training and nurturing. This would conceivably be the first time in many of these draftees’ lives that they have ever been in good physical shape. Not only would there be rigorous exercise, but there would be opportunities to introduce nutritional and hygienic standards along with the traditional requirements of properly maintaining the barracks and grounds. There would be no military type instruction during these three months. Think of it more like a summer camp with discipline.
After this introductory period, each draftee would then have the opportunity to choose what I remember from my day was called an MOS (Military Occupation Specialty). This would be like a curriculum in that each person could choose from subjects as far ranging as first aid to firefighting or disaster relief to remedial education for those who need it. Whatever the case, these programs where everyone develops some basic skills would last six months. Physical training while not as involved as during the previous period would still be a part of the daily regimen
The final three months of service would be spent in communities nearby applying these skills in practical applications whether it is tutoring, playground supervision, community clean-ups, etc.
Once this year long commitment was completed, you would have some well-grounded 19 year olds who can now advance to college, the military, the workforce or whatever with clear purpose and a better understanding of their black, while, yellow and red fellow citizens. They would also share experiences and relationships some of which would endure for a lifetime.