[sixties-l] Feel the Draft (fwd)

From: sixties@lists.village.virginia.edu
Date: Fri Oct 19 2001 - 19:17:24 EDT

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    ---------- Forwarded message ----------
    Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 13:20:07 -0700
    From: radtimes <resist@best.com>
    Subject: Feel the Draft

    radman says:

    Marc Cooper is an A-1 flaming a**hole, but on occasion he can say something
    interesting...

    ===================================================================

    October 12 - 18, 2001

    Feel the Draft

    <http://www.laweekly.com/ink/01/47/dissonance-cooper.shtml>

    We need a universal military call-up to start the real debate on this war

    by Marc Cooper

    The war against Osama bin Laden has finally begun, and homebound Americans
    have been issued their marching orders: Patriotically swarm the malls and
    charge, charge, charge, sparing no expense in the twilight struggle for
    positive corporate-earnings reports.
    I have a different suggestion. Instead of piling into Neiman's to pick up
    an extra Prada, now is the perfect moment for Americans to report to their
    local Selective Service office.
    Once there, get ready to be "injected, detected, infected, neglected and
    selected," in the immortal phrasing of Arlo Guthrie. That's right. I want
    to bring back the draft. Now. Today. By the close of business.
    If we are actually spending $25 million per year to register our
    18-year-olds for possible military service, when's a better time to start
    suiting them up and shipping them off?
    Some 94 percent of the American people say they support the current
    military attacks on Afghanistan. Better than 60 percent claim they are
    ready to support this campaign for years, if necessary. Who's supposed to
    do all this fighting? An all-volunteer military seems faintly un-patriotic
    at this juncture. It robs ordinary Americans of the chance to serve their
    country. Or do you think someone else should do the fighting?
    And that's the wonderfully clarifying nature of a draft. It keeps everyone
    honest. By escalating the stakes, the draft calls the bluff on hawks and
    doves alike. Those who argue for war must be ready to give their own
    bodies. And those who want peace must be ready for jail or exile, if
    necessary. No more cheap, empty theatrics by either side. Planting a flag
    on your Lexus or walking in circles in front of the Federal Building just
    won't cut it any longer. Under a draft, you either raise your right hand
    and step across the line, or you face the consequences.
    This time around, I propose we improve the system. There will be no student
    deferments from military service. You want to finish UCLA and open your
    dental practice in Brentwood? No problem, darling. We'll hold your place
    until you get back from Kabul, or Baghdad. No more exemptions for rich
    kids. As it is, combat troops in the U.S. volunteer Army are
    disproportionately poor and non-white. During the Gulf War, blacks made up
    30 percent of the front-line troops, but only 14 percent of the general
    population. A congressional study found that in Beverly Hills, and in
    similarly privileged communities, the recruitment rate is only about
    one-fifth the national average. And some of those are probably the children
    of live-in servants.
    So, stow your Beemers and fire up your Humvees. Unless, that is, you think
    that in time of national emergency the top wealthy 1 percent should get a
    tax cut and get their wars fought by their maid's kids too.
    The same goes for women. You've come a long way, baby, since 1969, and all
    I have to say is pack up your gear, you're goin' away. Feminists were the
    first to denounce the Taliban. Now, they'll have their chance to get even.
    I write from both political conviction and personal experience. For three
    years, in the late '60s, I actively and successfully resisted the draft
    without ever securing a student deferment. I spent two summers working as a
    volunteer "counselor," advising my peers how to similarly dodge the call-up
    for Vietnam. But as I and millions of others resisted, our call was
    clear: Stop the draft. Stop the war. I can't recall anyone demanding the
    draft be ended but the war continued.
    The draft became the ultimate, popular and democratic governor on the war
    policies of the state. When a consensus among the American people prevailed
    that the Vietnam War was a noble and honorable endeavor, the draft
    functioned without a glitch. When that consensus collapsed, so did the
    system of military call-up. And with American youth in rebellion, inside
    and outside the armed forces, the butchery in Vietnam was called to a halt.
    That's the precise mechanism of check and balance that's missing in the
    current conflict. Like most other Americans, I was sickened by the mass
    murder of 6,000 a monumental crime against humanity. I read of the anthrax
    scare in Florida, and I cannot but shudder. Taking out bin Laden's network
    and the religious fascists known as the Taliban are worthy and necessary
    goals that I support. But no blank check should be handed Bush and
    Rumsfeld. The just response desired by the American people, and demanded by
    our own security, should not be used to herd us into any sort of open-ended
    adventure.
    The Democrats and Congress have so far proved useless to audit and
    scrutinize the initiatives pouring forth from the White House and the
    Pentagon. In such cases, Congress always trails behind real popular
    sentiment and acts only after excruciatingly long periods of wind-sniffing.
    The only real guarantee the American people have is themselves. And the
    draft is the only reliable barometer of public sentiment. If this is truly
    a fight in the interests of the American people, then let the people fight.
    And let them decide what level of sacrifice they are willing to make. Given
    the opportunity to fight a just war, they will stream into service. And
    when and if they sense that the fighting no longer makes sense, they will
    not hesitate to shout, "Hell no, we won't go."



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