Reply #55: I voted 'yes' and you are a perfect example of why I did so..... [View All]

[sinkingfeeling]

My only great uncle died in WWI. My two uncles were both drafted and fought in WWII. One came back and the other is buried in France. My own father was exempted because he was a farmer. 60% of my male high school class was drafted for Viet Nam..the others were well enough off that they got college deferments. A few of my friends, believing as I did, that Viet Nam was morally wrong, fled to Canada. My son is of draft age right now.

Why should your generation be exempted from making a decision? If you are opposed to fighting in Iraq or Iran or Syria or for the American NeoCon Empire, that's great. You have two choices if drafted: flee or whatever it takes to avoid being inducted or if you feel strongly about it, go to jail.

If all Americans between the ages of 18 and 42 were to face the same decisions, maybe the ex-Yuppies and their kids would begin to realize the cost of endless war.

Since the day we invaded Iraq, I have kept comparing how shocked and angry Americans were over 9-11 and how they are incapable of translating that to having to live through the same anguish day after day, for 4 years, as the Iraqi people have been. Americans shit their pants on 9-11, but seem to think that creating the same terror on others is A-OK. Americans need to understand the heart-stopping terror of placing their loved ones in chaos and the hell of war. We don't get. We've never lived through bombs falling from the skies on our homes. We've never been roused from our sleep by men with AK47's and dark masks knocking down our doors and putting sand bags over our heads. We've never heard the cries of our kids being scared to death or seen their limbs blown off.

For America's younger people to be able to go on playing their video games of death and never having to make the decision if they want to flee or fight, is wrong: is a cop-out. For their consumer driven parents to just go about their daily lives while 650,000 Iraqis die and another 1.2 million are forced to flee their country, is immoral.

Yes, there should be a draft, free of deferments for college and fathers, and regardless of sex, in this country. Only then will people cease to want and support the American Empire sought and loved so by our corporate masters.

Now I'm signing out of DU for awhile.