Rep. Charles Rangel(D-NY) introduced HR 4752. The bill, a mandatory military service bill for the U.S. would:
To provide for the common defense by requiring all persons in the United States, including women, between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
I’ll be one of the first to say that something similar to this works in several other countries. It will never happen in the U.S. The citizens of America are way, way too afraid of anything that even closely resembles a draft. It also is entirely too close to a major military action. If it had happened before 9/11 it might have had a chance. Might have.
Personally, if called, I would serve. If it was mandatory, I would have to, and I would. Would I serve by choice? Not a chance. Some do and they deserve more respect than most people give them.
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About Shane Ede
I considered the military right out of high school – heck – I was all but signed up as a Marine (god – can’t you just picture me as a Marine, for crying out loud?) when my boyfriend at the time talked me out of it. Now I look back and – aside from thinking that I was more butch than my boyfriend – I wonder where I would be had I gone through it. Not here, that’s for sure.
I’d serve. Hell yes, I’d serve. But I doubt a draft would garner a whole lot of positive participation. And if we look back in history, draft-like situations didn’t work very well anyway – with the exception of situations where it was a built-in part of the culture. You know, like the USSR. 🙂