TITLE: Does America Need the Draft? By gene hudgens 05/14/09 |
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It seems that today the word draft is not associated in any way with patriotism.
America is built on patriotism and we are a free nation today because of patriotism and the willingness of so many Americans to sacrifice for our America.
It is sad that the media has failed to use its powerful influence to inform all of the American people of the need for all Americans to be totally patriotic for their country.
Today America does not have the DRAFT. That means that America’s military is not made up of a cross section of the American society. This means that Americans are allowing their military to consist entirely of volunteers.
The “all volunteer” military might seem to be perfect answer at first glance, but maybe everyone should take a second glance.
The defense of American needs to be equally shared by all citizens that enjoy the benefits of living in our wonderful America. The Draft will not put every American in uniform, but it certainly will make every citizen realize that he or she might be picked “drafted” to serve in the military.
Congress will certainly be more sensitive to caring for its military if every member of Congress realizes that their friends or family members just might be drafted.
Today 99% of Americans know that they can enjoy all of the freedoms of living in America without ever being in ‘harms way’ for one second. This 99% is comfortable with taking all of the benefits without every giving anything to defend this right.
The American military consists of approximately 3 million people. This is approximately 1% of the American population. Many of the 99% of Americans that are not in the military are so unconcerned about the 1% of the Americans that are in the military, that they seem unaware or unconcerned that their military is not always adequately cared for.
Many soldiers are being killed in Iraq and Afgan and many more are being seriously wounded.
Many of these wounded soldiers have awful spinal and brain injuries that will never be cured and will require treatment and rehabilitation for the rest of their lives. Medical experts have written that the life-long cost of necessary treatment and rehabilitation can easily exceed a million dollars per injured soldier.
It seems that most Americans do not realize this. This is another example of the media not adequately informing the American public. The 99% must get active and insure that Congress allocates enough money (up front) (in advance) each year to completely cover these expenses during the entire life-time of the wounded soldiers. Our military should be afforded the best medical care in the world; regardless of the expense.
The Draft is essential in assuring patriotism. Patriotism is essential in assuring the survival of America.
Our present all volunteer military is doing an outstanding job. However, everyone must realize that most of our "all volunteer army" is from the less educated and poorer sectors of our country. This could equate to a mercenary type military in the future. The mercenary soldier likely has no patriotism for anyone or anything.
This could result in the downfall of America…and this would be sad.
(c) Gene Hudgens
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