tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821217210219768767.post1574110325932712887..comments2008-11-13T06:05:20.380-05:00Stewart Rudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06637399729151713426noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821217210219768767.post-40145733959401117062007-02-02T10:38:00.000-05:002007-02-02T10:38:00.000-05:00It is all very good and well to talk about how a military draft could better society. However that also assumes that the point of the military is to better society, which it is not. The point of the military is to protect society. Therefore I think that the primary point of discussion about having a draft needs to be predicated on whether or not a draft will improve the operational capabilities of the military. My personal feelings are that not only will a draft not help the military in this regard. It will hurt it.<br /><br />There are several reasons for this. One is that the military is an institution, which prides itself on being great because it demands that each of its members act within the framework of a certain set of values. Taken as a whole those values represent the most admirable quality of the human spirit. Honor. The idea of compulsory service in the military rests, at least in part, on the idea that it is the duty of every citizen to do their part to defend their country. However we live in a country where the word compulsory is normally associated with some kind of crime or infringement of rights. Perhaps this is what we mean when we say we live in a free country. Given this freedom, the individual, although subject to cultural preconditions, ultimately defines his/her own conceptions of duty. Since there is no larger socially defined sense of duty outside that of the individual it would be wrong to consider military service a duty. However it is these same conditions, which does make it an honor. Ultimately, people who do not have the honor to want be a soldier, marine, or seaman, (and I suppose I will afford them the honor here,) airman (uhhem… chairman) have no place among the ranks of those who do. <br /><br />This is not a mere issue of ideals. People who are forced to do a job typically become cynical and end up being bad at what they are supposed to be doing. A good example of this would be in the area of war crimes. I think it is fairly safe to say that, despite what many people these days seem to think, there have been far less instances of war crimes in the current war then previous ones. There are of course several instances of abuse, (Abu Ghraib,) and what certainly seems like outright murder, (Haditha.) However the overall experience as compared with Vietnam shows I think that all in all most soldiers, marines… have demonstrated quite a bit of professionalism, and discipline in the field. In my own experience I can say that at least during training drills it is pounded into us that it is not ok to just shoot people arbitrarily.<br /><br />War crimes of course are not the only issue. Incompetence is another. More soldiers and marines have died far more from friendly fire than from enemy fire. This is because the battlefield is a complicated place where many changes occurs rapidly and miscalculations can quickly result in death or injury. This is especially true given the evermore technologically advanced systems that are being operated in the battlefield. All this means that competent people are needed to operate these systems. A draft would mean that a system which requires competent people, who care about their job, would be forced to take in many incompetent people who didn’t care about their jobs. The result would be more military deaths and more civilian deaths. <br /><br />The military is able to maintain the discipline and professionalism required on the battlefield because there are standards in place that dictate who can and can not be in the military. (As a side note I believe that the exclusion of homosexuals in the military is one standard that should be gotten rid of.) If a draft were to be enacted any semblance of standards would vanish. As a result the military would be hard pressed to ensure quality control in its performance and would become far less effective. If it is true that part of societies defense must come from an effective military than I think that a draft is clearly the wrong step in that direction.Nathanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671037240685529356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821217210219768767.post-85951367901587520112007-01-31T21:45:00.000-05:002007-01-31T21:45:00.000-05:00Is the problem really with apathy and boredom? <br />Is that such a big deal? I mean, do we really need to solve those "problems"?<br /><br />I think any military service is basically national selfishness... <br />I agree that the service the Military provides is valuable, noble, and oftentimes, heroic; but they only act based on what is in our nation's best interests.<br />(Japan only allied with the Germans because of their own agenda in WWII. Just what may have happened between them had the Axis powers won...)<br /><br />No offense Stewart, but last time anyone else checked (not me, as I'm indifferent), healthcare and education cost money. Longer service after being drafted would definitely offset the cost of providing healthcare and education/professional training... so I <i>think</i> your arguments about short-term service, and improved healthcare kinda cancel each other out...<br /><br />I just don't think we need a draft to solve our (generations x/y/z) problems with apathy, boredom, etc.<br /><br />I think we need less information. Less News programming. <br />In fact, I dare say we need to care less about everyone else and start fending for ourselves, as individuals.<br /><br />Dog eat dog baby.Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08239477436949567239noreply@blogger.com