-Caveat Lector- Reinstate the Draft
Bill Berkowitz - WorkingForChange 01.03.03 - It's fair, it's equitable and it's the patriotic thing to do. For those privileged Americans who have been historically underrepresented in America's military, it's time for an affirmative action plan. Americans need to move beyond mouthing slogans and posting flag decals on their SUVs and pick-up trucks, and stand up for their country. I never thought I'd be saying this, but it's time to bring back The Draft. Everyone gets an opportunity to serve -- National Football League players, major league baseball players, Hollywood stars, the neighborhood butcher, hip-hop artists, Senators' sons and daughters, Cabinet Secretarys’ youngsters -- no excuses, no special deals for cushy National Guard placements, no college deferments, no slithering out. This time around the draft will not only supply the armed services, but it will also create a cadre of community workers. Not community policemen. Not Operation TIPS wannabes. Rather, a genuine community service core to support child care projects and public education, senior citizen care, medical clinics, environmental clean-up, etcetera. Everyone will serve. Everyone will be paid a living wage to help make America a better place to live. Rangel's modest proposal I came to this position while watching one of New York City's most liberal Congressmen, Democrat Charles Rangel, boldly advocate the reinstatement of the draft during several television appearances the day before New Years Eve. With a twinkle in his eye, Rangel, a decorated combat veteran of the Korean War, told talk- show hosts on MSNBC and the Fox News Channel that all Americans should share in the sacrifice necessary to pursue President Bush's permanent war against terrorism. And, he added, all Americans should have the opportunity to be real patriots, not bumper-sticker or sunshine patriots. In a New York Times piece on Tuesday, December 31, Congressman Rangel wrote: "I believe that if we are going to send our children to war, the governing principle must be that of shared sacrifice." Rangel, who intends to introduce legislation to reinstate the military draft, wrote "I believe that if those calling for war knew that their children were likely to be required to serve -- and to be placed in harm's way -- there would be more caution and a greater willingness to work with the international community in dealing with Iraq. A renewed draft will help bring a greater appreciation of the consequences of decisions to go to war." Drafting away Some of you may be old enough to remember the Draft. For most young men, turning 18 was marked by a letter from your local draft board advising you of the time and place to report for your Army physical. The draft became a flashpoint for protest against the Vietnam War and was abolished by President Nixon in 1973 to diffuse political turmoil. The draft was always inequitable. Most of those who actually wound up serving on the front lines in Vietnam were poor and working class -- and disproportionately people of color. Upper- and middle-class kids figured out any number of schemes to avoid being drafted. Many went to college and received student deferments. Others, when they showed up for their physical, said or did some mighty weird things to avoid being seen as acceptable; brought letters from psychiatrists; stayed up days on end so as to appear so messed up that no branch of service would want them in their ranks. Some, among the more privileged, while claiming to support the war, avoided the draft by signing up for spots in the Reserves. By now, we all are aware that numerous Bush Administration "chicken hawks" cleverly avoided service to their country. (For more on this see the comprehensive listing of right-wing draft dodgers at the Chickenhawk Database.) The words of folksinger/activist Phil Ochs' Draft Dodger Rag comes to mind: Oh, I'm just a typical American boy from a typical American town I believe in God and Senator Dodd and a-keepin' old Castro down And when it came my time to serve I knew "better dead than red" But when I got to my old draft board, buddy, this is what I said: CHORUS Sarge, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen And I always carry a purse I got eyes like a bat, and my feet are flat, and my asthma's getting worse Yes, think of my career, my sweetheart dear, and my poor old invalid aunt Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a-goin' to school And I'm working in a DEE-fense plant I've got a dislocated disc and a wracked up back I'm allergic to flowers and bugs And when the bombshell hits, I get epileptic fits And I'm addicted to a thousand drugs I got the weakness woes, I can't touch my toes I can hardly reach my knees And if the enemy came close to me I'd probably start to sneeze I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen And I always carry a purse I got eyes like a bat, and my feet are flat, and my asthma's getting worse Ooh, I hate Chou En Lai, and I hope he dies, One thing you gotta see That someone's gotta go over there And that someone isn't me So I wish you well, Sarge, give 'em Hell! Kill me a thousand or so And if you ever get a war without blood and gore I'll be the first to go Yes, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen And I always carry a purse I got eyes like a bat, and my feet are flat, and my asthma's getting worse Yes, think of my career, my sweetheart dear, and my poor old invalid aunt Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a-goin' to school And I'm working in a DEE-fense plant The Draft helped build the anti-Vietnam War movement on college campuses across the nation. Men over 18 were required by law to carry their draft cards at all times. Many anti-war protesters burned their draft cards. Some young men went to jail and some became expatriates. Getting represented Now, instead of a military of volunteers and conscripts, America has "the all-volunteer Army." Ironically, poor whites and minorities make up the bulk of these volunteers. As before, many enlist as a way out of dead-end joblessness and poverty. Cong. Rangel: "A disproportionate number of the poor and members of minority groups make up the enlisted ranks of the military, while the most privileged Americans are underrepresented or absent." Our current all-volunteer Army allows most Americans to distance themselves from personally experiencing war. The war in Afghanistan, or looming war against Iraq or another "axis of evil" nation, plays out on the 24 hour news networks like giant video games or thriller movies -- and our sons and daughters aren't in harms way. As Cong. Rangel pointed out, as we approach going to war with Iraq and conflicts on a number of fronts, Americans appear to be rather blasé about the whole thing. "We need,” Cong. Rangel wrote, "to return to the tradition of the citizen soldier -- with alternative national service required for those who cannot serve because of physical limitations or reasons of conscience." While Cong. Rangel's modest proposal doesn't stand a snowball's chance in the Iraqi desert, the stakes would be higher if all Americans were faced with the draft -- with family members at risk of being called up and forced to leave jobs and families to serve their country. If members of Congress were about to send their children or their constituents children off to the front lines, they too might think twice before sanctioning the president's war without end. ©Working Assets Online URL: http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=14311 A<:>E<:>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article has to stand on its own merits. 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