I posted tis in the other board but saw this one...
The anti-conscription bill in the Senate is not based in reality... every one spouts this sh**t about how the draft means lower quality men in the service- if they don't make the cut, they don't serve in uniform...period! Some one who is drafted goes thru basic training and training for their ocupational specialty and if they dont meet standards they are out of that speciality.
This bill ignores the fact that we may need the draft again at a certain point... not for something like Afgahnistan or Iraq (or- I hate to say even Vietnam) but for something like WWII. It is very interesting to see some one like you 20RP12 opposing the draft but wanting defense cuts...if we cut our military with out any sort of additional reserve component- which the population at large is- we will be weak and we will be defeated in a conflict. This isn't a health care mandate or the government forcing regulations down your throat- this is you being called to serve your country if she needs you most...more serious but far more justified
I am not in the SEnate but would love to discuss this with Napoleon and 20RP12 and others beucase I believe this is a dangerous bill...
clarence
I don't personally think that the draft means lower quality men, but only that it's better to have a purely volunteer-based military instead of a coercion-based military.
As someone who is endorsing this bill, I don't think we need a draft because I think drafts are unjust for reasons that were already stated. And people who oppose the draft aren't necessarily against having a defense- we just feel that people should be able to decide if they enlist in the military or not. I don't think it's fair to make that connection. Military cuts is another issue, but I will just say that the reason why people want those cuts is because our presence is in countries that it shouldn't be. Furthermore, conscription very much constitutes as a mandate because it involves coercing people into doing something; whether it's a good mandate or a bad mandate, it's a mandate- because if you refuse to answer that call to join, you end up in prison.
I see your point Scott and I do not think any one wants to have a weak defense... conscription is a mandate and a better amendment would be to use it in only a formal declaration of war. The defense cuts issue is related because if we cut the number of service members and cant draft then how the hell will we have the numbers we need during wartime?
