American at heart

This draft thing got me thinking... And with my incredible ingenuity, I tied an assignment from one of my political science classes into an outlet for my blog... sorta. I wrote a letter to one of my Senators, telling him that: The draft is wrong, Why it's wrong, and What we should do about it. As I look back on the finished masterpiece, I realize just how glorious it is. Well, at least to me. Feel free to critique if you'd like. If the critique is good, I may change it before I send it off. Well, in all it's glory, here it is:

The Honorable U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

RE: Reinstatement of the draft

Dear Senator Dorgan:

I am writing to you today because I am concerned about New York Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel’s policy suggestion of reinstating the military draft. As an American soldier and Political Science major at the University of North Dakota, this issue affects me greatly. I am a member of the US military because I want to serve my country. Much like you serve the country in the political spectrum, I am a patriot and want to serve my country by fighting for the freedoms we enjoy on a daily basis. For the most part, citizens who oppose the draft are avoiding military service. I oppose the draft for an entirely different reason: We, as military servicemen, don’t need draftees to fight the war on terrorism. I am not comfortable with the idea of putting my life in the hands of someone who was unwilling to volunteer and had to be forced into the fight. I would not want to be the head of the Democratic Policy Committee if some of my members were unmotivated citizens with no knowledge of politics forced into the position. It would make the job a lot more difficult. The only difference is, my life would not be on the line.

The idea that a military draft will shatter class distinctions is demonstrably wrong. Not because it won’t work, but because there is no class distinction in the military. There already is unity. The idea that the military is made up of the poor and uneducated is ridiculous. In fact, more than 90 percent of recruits last year had high school diplomas, compared to 75 percent of the U.S. youth population. The military population is almost perfectly represented geographically, and recruits mirror the class levels of the U.S. population as well. As a matter of fact, the majority of recruits come from middle class families. Patterns in recent years reinforce this trend, showing a slight dip in recruits from lower socioeconomic groups and a slight increase from upper-class groups. As you can see, the need for a draft to shatter class distinctions in the military is unjustified.

I understand that troops are stretched thin. Instead of creating more troops for future conflicts, I think we should finish the fights we are in now. During my year in Iraq, I learned that the troops are not able to fully do their duty. The war has become political and we cannot fight a political war. Using war to gain political power hurts our mission. The troops are what are important because they are citizens of our great country. Decisions should be made on behalf of what the citizens want, not what is going to win the most votes. Using troops in mass to force policy issues and create democracy out of thin air is preposterous. Limiting a soldier’s freedom at war is detrimental to his ability to complete his mission. I was trained to fight. I was not trained to police an insurgency, especially with my hands tied behind my back in regards to rules of engagement and rights of self defense. The soldiers on the ground, patrolling every day, are wishing to make it back to the base without a firefight. That saddens me. We are a superior military force. When young men and women are scared to defend their lives because they are in fear of making a wrong decision, I begin to wonder why these rules of war exist. If the enemy does not have to obey the rules, why do we? Are we really better than the enemy? Is it worth the cost of American lives to be better than the enemy? Is it worth the cost of my life? I believe we should let our mighty military do what they do and crush the enemy. We could add troops until the world ends, but if they have to fight with their hands tied, the stalemate will continue. The draft will only add bodies to the problem at hand. There are more than enough troops in our vast military to take on any insurgency presented to us, so long as we hit the enemy head on. We should end this war the only way wars end, and that is with violence and speed of action. I urge you to finish the war on terrorism in Iraq by allowing us volunteer, motivated soldiers to do as we are trained and crush the insurgency. As you know, we as Americans can and will make a difference. It’s time to stand up and take care of business.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.


Sincerely,

Smitty :-)

Labels: Politics