2008 Woodie Awards
I'm Mentioning
I'm not going to Canada!
Frank Romero
Date created: 11/9/04 Section: OPINION
In the years since the Vietnam War, there has always been the looming fear of the draft being re-instated. However, not many people gave it any real serious thought until it became a very real issue, on the eleventh day in September, 2004.
This is not only a dangerous time for all Americans serving overseas, but very soon could become a dangerous time for everyone. To begin, I am the Accordion Cowboy, and this is what I'm Mentioning....
Now, the selective service has been in existence since before most people can remember. To most it is simply something every male has to sign up for at the age of 18, beyond that it's not all that big a deal. However, in the light of events stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, the invasion of Afghanistan, and most currently the war in Iraq, the probability of the draft being reinstated is almost a certainty.
You may ask, is this truly a justified act by the higher ups in our government? Are we doomed to repeat another Vietnam? In all likelihood, yes we are.
The problem with the draft in its very conception is that it goes against the most prominent principle on which this nation has been founded, freedom. Freedom is defined as the right to choose. As an American citizen you have the right to choose everything about every aspect of your life, from the food you eat to the place you work, to where you get your hair cut. The entire war in Iraq is based upon the idea that we are going to liberate the nation from tyranny, and implement a free democratic system.
So, the question I pose is this: how can we, as a country, possibly be promoting freedom in any sense, when the operating method of the draft is to take those from their homes, and send them to war against their will?
To force someone to fight in a war that they do not believe in is not only degrading to those who are fighting, but it is, in essence, bringing us back to a rather dark period in American history known as slavery. The American troops that become drafted are sent to war against their will. In turn, they are now fighting against the very people they have set out to bring freedom to.
This is not only a dangerous time for all Americans serving overseas, but very soon could become a dangerous time for everyone. To begin, I am the Accordion Cowboy, and this is what I'm Mentioning....
Now, the selective service has been in existence since before most people can remember. To most it is simply something every male has to sign up for at the age of 18, beyond that it's not all that big a deal. However, in the light of events stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, the invasion of Afghanistan, and most currently the war in Iraq, the probability of the draft being reinstated is almost a certainty.
You may ask, is this truly a justified act by the higher ups in our government? Are we doomed to repeat another Vietnam? In all likelihood, yes we are.
The problem with the draft in its very conception is that it goes against the most prominent principle on which this nation has been founded, freedom. Freedom is defined as the right to choose. As an American citizen you have the right to choose everything about every aspect of your life, from the food you eat to the place you work, to where you get your hair cut. The entire war in Iraq is based upon the idea that we are going to liberate the nation from tyranny, and implement a free democratic system.
So, the question I pose is this: how can we, as a country, possibly be promoting freedom in any sense, when the operating method of the draft is to take those from their homes, and send them to war against their will?
To force someone to fight in a war that they do not believe in is not only degrading to those who are fighting, but it is, in essence, bringing us back to a rather dark period in American history known as slavery. The American troops that become drafted are sent to war against their will. In turn, they are now fighting against the very people they have set out to bring freedom to.
