tulsamal
Member
I too believe a draft would be a good thing. I think it would benefit young people greatly. I also think it would make parents think twice about voting for some yahoo who believes every diplomatic crisis should be solved by sending in the troops.
We are arguing at cross-purposes here. I said the evidence in the US Army since WWII suggests that a draft Army is a bad idea. Morale is much better in a volunteer force. You also get much higher quality "raw material" at the Basic Training level. You (and others) are arguing something else entirely. You are saying a draft would be good for _society._ You may well be right.
I've thought many times that some type of mandatory service should be a requirement after the age of 18 in order to become a "full citizen." You want to vote, own guns, serve on juries, etc, then you have to make a contribution to society first. That could be military service. It could be something like the WPA for two years. Or working 1000 hours as a volunteer at your local nursing home for minimum wage. Whatever. It needs to be REAL work. It needs to be minimal pay. It needs to be something that your community/state/nation really needs and not just "make work." I do think such an idea could transform our whole entitlement/citizenship mentality.
But remember they are two different things. In some ways a draft just might be good for society. But it would be bad for the fighting force itself.
Gregg