I doubt that Bush is actually trying to do this (I don't think that is the kind of legacy he would want), but even if it were so, Congress would never do it because too many Congress"persons" know that they would be tossed out in the next election if they did. I can't remember the last time I "guaranteed" anything, but I "guarantee" there will be no draft!!" Now if world events change drastically, if major new conflicts erupt, if WMDs are used, then this would change everything!
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The Bill to re-instate the draft now in Congress
- Thread starter K.C.
- Start date
I doubt that Bush is actually trying to do this (I don't think that is the kind of legacy he would want), but even if it were so, Congress would never do it because too many Congress"persons" know that they would be tossed out in the next election if they did. I can't remember the last time I "guaranteed" anything, but I "guarantee" there will be no draft!!" Now if world events change drastically, if major new conflicts erupt, if WMDs are used, then this would change everything!
Quote from Cutten:
Except a draft isn't "asking", is it?
Correct, it is not.
As I wrote earlier, the "preservation of a free society isn't always free, that's true. Understanding that, however, is a matter of personal learning, not duty. Those who understand it will fight to live in freedom. Or else, knowing that we all die some day anyway, will die proudly striving to honor the values they hold dear. Those who don't, won't. History is replete with examples."
Current history included.
Rest in Peace, Pat Tillman--Army Ranger, American Hero.
Quote from I Missed Boat:
I doubt that Bush is actually trying to do this (I don't think that is the kind of legacy he would want), but even if it were so, Congress would never do it because too many Congress"persons" know that they would be tossed out in the next election if they did. I can't remember the last time I "guaranteed" anything, but I "guarantee" there will be no draft!!" Now if world events change drastically, if major new conflicts erupt, if WMDs are used, then this would change everything!
Totally agree. This is so not going to happen.
Quote from AAAintheBeltway:
Totally agree. This is so not going to happen.
I also agree with you that it won't happen this year before the election unless, as one example where a military draft would come overnight, North Korea does something incredibly stupid.
However, long term I see the reinstatement of the draft as quite possible, even likely, due to the commitment by the majority of politicians to the philosophical underpinnings of altruism.
The Right continues to push for mandatory service due to its ties to religion. The Left has always pushed for sacrificing the able to the unable via the force of the state. Both have their excuses--the Religious Right that all men are in service to gods (and we know the truth, so do what we tell you); the religious Left that all men are in service to the state (and we know what's best, so do what we tell you). Both seek to force others to comply when they can't sell them these ideas. Today we have a mixture of both. Neither idea is the America I believe in.
Human nature being what it is, I think it's only a matter of time. We've already seen the obliteration of the First Amendment, an explicit and first constitutional provision specifically designed to protect political speech, by the "Campaign Finance Reform" bill. I mean, what part of the word "no" didn't they get? That both sides permitted such an atrocity, and that it was upheld by The Supreme Court, clearly defines how the power brokers want to manage <ahem> "their" citizens.
I see these two factions compromising to further consolidate their existing monolithic power. To achieve this, there will be pandering to the Right with a "choice" of military service, to the Left with a "choice" of community service. Both mandatory, of course. And both aimed at insuring that children just becoming adults, to quote Tom Clancy in Clear and Present Danger, "get the message whether the phone rings or not."
When politicians think they own us, rather than the other way around, that is indeed a clear and present danger.
Where are you getting this notion of "the right pushing for compulsory service because of its ties to religion?" I thought I stayed up on this stuff and I'm just not aware of anyone of consequence on the right arguing for compulsory service. True volunteerism yes, not the fake kind of welfare system volunteerism Clintons AmeriKa Corps turned out to be, which to me bears chilling resemblence to the thug squads various dictators Like Chavez in Venezuela employ to silence opponents.
One or two morons desperately trying to get on TV, I thinking of you Sen. Chuck Hagel, don't impress me.
One or two morons desperately trying to get on TV, I thinking of you Sen. Chuck Hagel, don't impress me.
And that was exactly my point on which, apparently, we both agree. However, I include insanity of both liberals and conservatives. When Reason fails, when one side cannot by dint of a rational argument convince the other side to act together in their individual self-interest(s), then force (and fraud) typically result. Because one side thinks the other immoral, or the other thinks the one stupid--and so they seek to get around each other rather than act from respect.Quote from AAAintheBeltway:
In a democratic process, liberals could never persuade Americans to vote for their insane ideas...
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31638
Their impatience prefers that to endeavoring to change their point of view or make better arguments with each other.
I'm sorry if my tagging religion as one culprit got us off track; it's a polemical mistake borne of trying to make too many points at once. I know better. That said, mixing faith and political conservatism IS the essential flaw of The Right today. Altruism, self-sacrifice, the evil of the love of money, the needs of the unable creating obligations on the able, and on and on is precisely why today's right wing cannot adequately defend Free Market Capitalism on principle.
(One example: It's why so many Republicans today actually believe health care is a RIGHT, as if it grows on trees. They lost that battle on principle decades ago, not just last year with prescription drugs for seniors. They lost it years ago because they stopped believing that a free man has a right to dispose of his effort as he sees fit and to charge whatever price he wants. It doesn't guarantee anyone will buy at that price, but handling it rationally does keep the cart behind the horse where it belongs. Today, there are whole generations who believe doctors and other care providers owe them.)
The Religious Right, having hijacked the Republican Party, always feels guilty about protecting individual rights (real ones) and thus continually compromises with The Left. As they will again one day, I predict, with some form of "palatable choice" in mandatory service.
Cheers.