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Published on Saturday, October 25, 2003 by King Features
Syndicate |
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Gen. Wesley Clark's Compulsory
Volunteerism |
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by Charley Reese |
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American politics has become so dumbed down that no one seems to have picked up on the contradiction in Gen. Wesley Clark's proposal for a civilian reserve force. People who volunteered would sign up for five years and could be called to "active duty" by the president for up to six months. They could also be sent overseas. Compulsory volunteerism is, of course, a contradiction in terms. People have become confused because the alternative to a military draft is called an "all-volunteer" force rather than what it is, which is a mercenary force. That is acceptable use of the language. Nevertheless, it is misleading. What one does when one "volunteers" for military service is enlist in and join an organization. The instant you take the oath, you are required to obey orders. Like the sham democracies in some African countries, where people get to vote one time and then live under a dictatorship, you volunteer one time to join and thereafter are subject to compulsion. What the general is proposing is another military-style organization without uniforms or weapons. The general ought to watch the famous film of the Munich rally of the Nazi party. Adolf Hitler had the same idea. The film shows thousands of civilians standing at attention holding shovels. They were called, I believe, "labor battalions." Americans need to understand the difference between patriotism and nationalism. A patriot loves his land and his people. A nationalist loves his government. The patriot voluntarily does what is necessary to protect his land and his people. A nationalist blindly obeys his government. I'd be damned before I would allow my life to be disrupted because some American version of the Fuehrer decided that I needed to dig sewers in Haiti or paint schools in Iraq. I will never volunteer to be compelled to do anything. My concept of volunteerism is someone who does something of his own free will and is free to stop doing it whenever he decides to stop. Being compelled to volunteer is an Orwellian concept designed to put a false face on compulsion. In this age of neo-imperialism, Americans ought to remember that all citizens, including the president and every other public official, have but one duty: to obey the Constitution. The Constitution does not authorize a "Dear Leader" or a "Fuehrer." It authorizes us to elect a fellow citizen who will, for a four-year term, administer the federal government and enforce its laws. A man holding the office of the president is no different from any other citizen and is subject to the same laws as the rest of us. He is, despite his duty as commander in chief, a civilian, not a military person. The fact that modern presidents act like emperors, live in what has become a fortified palace and travel surrounded by Praetorian Guards should stand as a warning that we have strayed far from our American traditions. Do you know that after the recent United Nations meetings, the chancellor of Germany strolled out of the building and chatted with reporters on the sidewalks of New York? At the same time, the president, supposedly the leader of the free nation of America, was whisked out of the building surrounded by armed guards and hurried away in his armored limousine. Harry Truman, bless his memory, was the last American president who understood that we are a republic, not an empire. He took his morning walks on the streets of Washington, even after Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to storm Blair House (where Truman was staying while the White House was being renovated) and assassinate him. He bought his own stamps and stationery so that if he wanted to write a personal letter, he wouldn't have to use the public's stationery. As his term was ending, he refused all the offers of corporate directorships, telling the moguls: "You don't want me, you want the presidency, and that's not mine to sell. It belongs to the American people." We already have one guy in the White House with pretentious and false ideas of grandeur. We don't need an ex-general with an even bigger ego as a replacement. If you want to do close-order drill with a paintbrush and a shovel, that's your business, but it's definitely not for me. Don't forget to click your heels when you salute. © 2003 by King Features Syndicate, Inc. |
