A military draft in 2007? Thankfully that sentence has a question mark after it and is not a certainty. In fact, it is only a far-fetched bill that U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said he will introduce early next year. However, students need not worry, as there is little support among fellow lawmakers.
In fact, Rangel proposed similar bills in recent years calling for a reinstatement of the military draft, all of which were promptly shot down. So why introduce yet another bill to Congress, one that Rangel himself most assuredly knows will not pass?
He claims the goal is to initiate a discussion on the Iraq war. He argues that, if all of our children were susceptible to a draft, our elected leaders would use more cautionary discretion in foreign policy decision-making.
More than anything, however, the possibility of a draft ultimately forces people to not take our military for granted. People differ on the reasons for wanting or not wanting a military draft, but many agree that most citizens are not really in touch with what is going on in Iraq.
UW-Madison history professor Jeremi Suri recently changed his mind about a military draft when he realized ""how dangerous the situation is with only one segment of the population being involved and the rest of us just going on with our lives the way we always did.
""Young people in our society need to feel more connected to the government and the country,"" he said.
Suri added that the draft would increase public accountability. Yet, the prospect of forcing people to serve alongside those that volunteer would ultimately hurt the effectiveness and reliability of a military unit.
Steven Haag, a student at Emory University in Atlanta, said in an interview with CNN.com: ""What would I do if I were drafted? I think I probably wouldn't be the best soldier. I'm not sure other soldiers would want to depend on me.""
Those who would be drafted could potentially be an impediment to those who volunteer and therefore hamper their cause.
""You have a draft and you have a lot of people who don't want to serve ... to force them to come in and take the place of volunteers doesn't make a lot of sense,"" said U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the outgoing chairman of the House Armed Service Committee.
The military has been meeting its recruiting goals and has actually seen a drastic increase in the number of men and women choosing to re-enlist. Furthermore, a study done by the Heritage Foundation found the military to be more diverse then the population at large and that the average military member came from higher income homes and were better educated than their civilian counterparts.
""I think we can do this with an all-voluntary service, all-voluntary Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy,"" said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. ""And if we can't, then we'll look for some other option.""
Lawmakers understand the vast majority of the public is against a military draft, with polls showing seven out of 10 Americans oppose it. Rangel's attempt in 2003 to implement the draft for men and women between the ages of 18-26 resulted in a 402-2 defeat within the House of Representatives.
This clearly shows there is no momentum behind the current proposition and there is no reason to suggest Rangel's latest proposal—to create a draft for men and women between the ages of 18-42—will pass. In fact, many prominent politicians have already denounced it, as such a proposition is a move toward a militaristic society and is a regression from the pursuit of a civil society.
While the possibility of a military draft being reinstated is virtually zero, the sheer explosiveness of the topic reminds us all of how indebted we are to those that volunteer, sacrifice and serve in the armed services.
