Reply #100: here is what a friend of mine has to say about the draft.... [View All]

[ElsewheresDaughter]

and i am a staunch anti war proponet but he almost has me convinced


his message:

I have seen many of my good friends post
that they are against the draft.
I am willing to speak for the draft.

My opinion, and that's all it is,
so take it at that,
is based on my experience
as a high school kid
fighting the war in Vietnam,
and my studies of that war
and the resistance to that war.

First,
I like total conscription in the armed services
by all citizens.

This will make our services
totally representative of our electorate.

Now, the military does not repsresent the total electorate,
only those who have volunteered to fight in this war.

If it did,
we would have voices in the military
that come from Peace People,
not just people who have bargained war
for an education. (broad generalization, pardon me)

My own sons chose to leave JROTC,
and the free college ride it would provide,
because they opposed this war.

If they had to stay,
and others opposed to the war had to serve,
then they would not have
a unified pro war standing army.

Second,
i want peace people to be
at least partially responsible for watching the guns.

How many hippies enlist?

Well, I want more hippies in the military,
and soon.


my friend said that she
would want her kids to join the Peace corps.

I say put the Rednecks and Wanna-Fights
in the Peace corp,
they need to learn some love,
and let the peace kids be behind the guns,
so they can teach some love
by not firing them.

Third ,
of all my 200+ myspace friends,
I know of only four that have been arrested
in opposition to this war,
and i include one 14 year old girl
from upstate New York
who walked out of school on September 5th,
and was suspended for three days.

I am Very opposed to this war,
and i haven't been arrested yet.

If my sons are drafted,
I will be arrested,
and several times.

If each of my myspace friends had a draft card,
or had a child with a draft card,
I assure you that more than 4 of my myspace
friends would have been arrested opposing
the Iraq War by now.

I disagree with Congressman Randall on this point.

The rich will still get out of service,
like Bush and Cheney,
and the smart, like Clinton,
will find a way out,
but you and I
will have our level of comfort changed,
and like they say,
all politics is local,
and when the Draft comes,
the War in Iraq will become local,
like local in your living room
as you say goodbye to your loved ones
leaving for a Tour in Iraq,
and when that happens,
you will move from being Very against this war,
to being Very Arrested and against this war.

And when we are willing to get arrested,
we will stop this war.

I want to see the Draft
to make those opposed to the war
have to actually go into the streets
and face the man.

That's what I did in 1968, and 69, and 70, and 71,
and 72, and that's is why
the Vietnam Memorial Wall
is not larger than it is.

Because people like me stopped it.

Why haven't you stopped the War in Iraq?

Because it isn't local , in your house, yet.

My hats off to my 6 myspace friends
who have loved ones in Iraq
at this moment.

I judge no parent or sister, or loved one
who is praying for this war to stop,
only those of us
who are not answering those prayers.

If it takes a Draft
to make you face the man in the streets,
then bring on two drafts
and end this war twice as fast.

remember who stopped the War in Vietnam,

it was people,
with draft cards,
marching in the streets by the million.


People in every town,
and on everyday,
people for whom this far away war
has become local.



We have enough people who are against the war,
we just dont have enough
who have gotten local with it.

The draft will not raise the war,
it will raise the fight against it.

My proof is the postings already today
about resisting the draft.

the fear of death is the only carrot
that will get the people in the streets.

The Draft is that carrot.

give the people a carrot
and lets get on with the business
of taking the streets against this war.

With a steady stream of volunteers,
the war will go on and on,
but with a draft,
the war in Iraq's days are numbered.

I could be wrong.
i could be right.

Lets look at Vietnam and judge.

I love you.
forgive me if I am wrong,
i am only attempting to find my way to peace.

If Hippies ran the Department of Defence,
I would finally sleep well at night.

Imagine giving out medals and ribbons
for not having a War.

Lets work for that day.

In the end,
I believe that only the drafting of people
opposed to the War,
and that alone,
will the war end.

Sad to say,
all politics is local.

I only know what I have learned.

anything more you will have to teach me.

Let me learn.