If there was a draft what would YOU do?

[Shu]

This was forwarded from a blog - dtwood - I am posting it here for other opinions, I'm very interested:

This is a very personal question to me, I have by far gone out of my way to never discuss war with anyone. I am very biased on some points and some I try to not think about, I just hate to hear people's opinions dragged on to long and I would hate for me to blurt something out I would regret.

Let me start off by saying my family on both sides fought in WWII (Navy and Army) but not one of us Wood's fought in Korea or Vietnam. It wasn't until Desert Storm that a "Wood" took action. My cousin Todd was a pilot in the Air Force. His eye sight was not 20/20 so he could not fly F-15's, so he flew helicopters. He flew chinooks and dropped paratroopers which he never really discussed with us. So beyond that, there really hasn't been a need for a "Wood" to go to war since there has not been a draft in quite some time.

You have to think about this... Russia and Georgia are going at it, and russia has warned us many times to stop aiding Georgia. We have North Korea who hates our guts as well, yet keeps saying that they will deactive nuclear silos. Not to mention the rest of the world.. but I digress. Here's the point - we are still fighting 1 war or should I say fighting someone else's war now, but still. We are in the brink of economic fall out as a whole. So if someone else (Russia, N Korea or heck even China) were to attack us right now, I don't think we would have enough reserves to actually stand a chance.

So this leaves us with Government action. Do away with Political Correctness for once, and institute the draft.

So back to the point.. What would I do? Well I'm of the age until I think 35. Would I run or would I defend our country..

Well I would put aside the "movie brainwashing" that tries to illustrate what war could be like.. and I would actually tell myself this is a real war. Bullets will be flying over me, people will be dying.. I will have a 75% or greater chance of being shot .. and these people I defend against.. are pissed and they will be crazy enough to blow themselves up to defend their gods or their country.

I would Choose to defend.. I would have to remember what the hell I'm fighting for first of all. I would need to ground myself and push past my limits as a human since alot of my friends would be stripped from me. I would need to learn emotional discipline.. meaning if someone were to die close to me .. I wouldn't lose it and get myself killed. I would need to learn how to Kill...

True I think some people deserve to die (rapists primarily) - but I would never lift a finger to actually do it, I would rather not play God.

I would need to learn acceptance, and I would not let war change me as a person. Man... all this blows, but inevitably I would change.

Sorry but if you have had to kill someone in war, I can't imagine what you feel afterwards. I know it's your mission and you've probably been pre-programmed to do it.

Seriously though.. to pull the trigger.. ah..

Let's just hope it doesn't come to this. For our sake being in the age range.

For those who look forward to this, just wait till you are shot at. Let's see who you will become then.

I know I'm not the only one thinking about this, since I heard the question from one of my piers as of recent.

-------------------------

So the question is mostly "Would you choose to fight?" or "Would you choose to flee?". Also would you be able to to pull the trigger on your enemy?

Let me here it.

 

[der Astronom]

If there was a draft, I'd go into the mountains and live the rest of my life as a hermit. It works well for me anyways because then I can get away from all those annoying distractions from all those annoying people, I can live alone without having to sacrifice my living accommodations for other people, and most of all, I'll have more time for math.

I'd never join the army, even if there was a draft because I don't feel patriotic. I don't feel as if it is absolutely necessary to defend my country; it's just a strip of land. I don't feel it necessary to defend the people in my country anyways; I barely know them, and can still get along with people who don't live in the same country as me anyways. I also don't want to be a part of the army because I cannot live with the idea of being told how to live my life and told what I must do and who I must kill and who I let survive--I cannot do this because I may not agree with their choice of who lives and who dies, and if it is illogical, I cannot do it. I also do not wish to be another accessory to something as stupidly ridiculous and ugly as politics.

 

[Aztec Triogal]

I'm not sure I understand the question. I read the whole thing and the only question to answer seems to be would you fight or flee. If the draft were re-instituted and I was drafted... then I'd be drafted and go to war. I really don't see where the conflict is. The only other option is to flee the country and I'm not doing that. But that doesn't really seem like much of a debate to me...

 

[Shu]

Fight or Flee was the question - Sorry it was very unedited at the time - let me go back and change it up a bit.

 

[limedaiquiri]

I'm not sure I understand the question. I read the whole thing and the only question to answer seems to be would you fight or flee. If the draft were re-instituted and I was drafted... then I'd be drafted and go to war. I really don't see where the conflict is. The only other option is to flee the country and I'm not doing that. But that doesn't really seem like much of a debate to me...

I agree. There's nothing else to do but to BE drafted.

mod edit: please try to put more effort in your posts.

thank you

 

[AngofWolf]

I agree. There's nothing else to do but to BE drafted.

I disagree. You could run, you could rebel, you could start running around, killing people in hopes that you are killed and don't have to go to war. You could fight for the freedom you want, or even run so that you can keep away from those that would impose their rule over your freedom.


Though these are things one could do, I would personally accept the draft. There are many people in the US I am sure I do not like. However if it came down to it, I would protect where I live. Why? Because it is not only my home and home to those that I dislike. It is home to my family, my friends, and my love. It is home to people who can not defend themselves but are worth protecting.

Sure the battle front may not be our home, but if we show weakness then in the future maybe it will be.

The only problem is people who are drafted usually think about preserving their lives and not doing what needs to be done to win the fight. It makes for very uneffective fighting.

On a side note, if your willing to drive a car you should be willing to be drafted. Currently more people die in car accidents yearly than in times of war.

 

[DKnight]

in all honesty if there was a draft, I probebly wouldn't even be aloud to join up due to various medical conditions which have already prevented me from joining and going to an academy in the past. if anything they would keep me state side in some special force that they will only call out for when it becomes the world against us.
but if i was aloud i would join the draft with little hesitation.

 

[Ang]

Assuming this was at a time when I was of the correct age to fight.

I would be prepared to fight if I supported the cause strongly enough. Say my country was being invaded, I would probably fight. If, however, it was some ruddy dispute over nothing somewhere, then I would not. Simple as that.

 

[Franice]

On a side note, if your willing to drive a car you should be willing to be drafted. Currently more people die in car accidents yearly than in times of war.

Currently, more veterans are driven to suicide from the stress and insanity of war than people who are in car accidents. Driving a car is completely voluntary, and deaths are usually accidental. It's different than being forced to fight and kill, where your death is most likely to be intentional murder by the enemy.

Somehow, I have developed the cockamamie notion that I am a human being, who enjoys doing human things, like eating, sleeping, loving, and mating. If I wanted to fight, I'd join the military, but I don't. I'm not a fighter, and not a patriot. Sure, I like living in America, but I can also think of 30 other countries I'd probably like living in.

So, in the event of a draft, I'd shoot myself in the foot.

 

[AngofWolf]

Currently, more veterans are driven to suicide from the stress and insanity of war than people who are in car accidents. Driving a car is completely voluntary, and deaths are usually accidental. It's different than being forced to fight and kill, where your death is most likely to be intentional murder by the enemy.

You're wrong. Veteren deaths are something around 6,000 a year. Deaths in Iraq per year are less than 12,000 (Monthy deaths seem to range from as low as 100 to as high as 1000). Car accidents have a consistant 40,000-45,000 deaths a year. Even if you combine those totals, car accidents still roduce more deaths at the moment.

Somehow, I have developed the cockamamie notion that I am a human being, who enjoys doing human things, like eating, sleeping, loving, and mating. If I wanted to fight, I'd join the military, but I don't. I'm not a fighter, and not a patriot. Sure, I like living in America, but I can also think of 30 other countries I'd probably like living in.

Though it is certainly your opinion and you are entitled to it, the simple fact is you are essentually being greedy in thinking this way. You're saying you want freedom to do the things you want to do, but you are not willing to fight for it.

That is like me saying I want a PS3 to enjoy, but I am not willing to work to save up the money and pay for it. Instead I want someone else to do it for me.

However them drafting us for anything short of a world war or our country being invaded would be somewhat unfair since many of the fights we enter are voluntary it seems.

 

[Franice]

I wasn't disputing the fact that more people die in car accidents, so no, I'm not wrong. Saying that you should be willing to go to war because you have a chance of dying in a car accident is completely irrelevant. The purpose of driving a car is not to die, it's transportation. The purpose of fighting is to destroy, kill, and be killed for a particular cause.

Call me greedy if it makes you feel better, but I'm not silly enough to believe that all war is about freedom. I'm not under the illusion that my country is the freest, most perfect nation in the world and everything it does is moral gold and handed down by God himself. My life is mine, and it is absolutely precious. I'm not giving it to just become another nameless statistic.

So maybe I am an asshole, but I can deal with it.

 

[Donald Trump]

Though it is certainly your opinion and you are entitled to it, the simple fact is you are essentually being greedy in thinking this way. You're saying you want freedom to do the things you want to do, but you are not willing to fight for it.

I hardly think self-preservation is greedy. Not wanting to fight is not cowardly or selfish. There are many reasons for not wanting to fight, ideological reasons, conscientious objections.
Also the car analogy is completely inaccurate. Firstly, because when driving a car, your fellow drivers are not trying to kill you. Secondly, if there was a draft then the casualty rate would be a lot higher than that of the current war in Iraq, or no draft would be needed.

Also just because you are drafted, you don't actually have to join the army. Remember Ali burnt his draft card, the whole 'no vietcong ever called me a ******' speech.

 

[AngofWolf]

I wasn't disputing the fact that more people die in car accidents, so no, I'm not wrong.

Currently, more veterans are driven to suicide from the stress and insanity of war than people who are in car accidents.

Say wha?

I hardly think self-preservation is greedy.

Self-preservation is often very greedy however. Because in order to preserve yourself you often can not help others, unless it benefits you enough to do so.

Furthermore not taking part in a draft to fight for your freedom, your family's freedom, your friend's freedom, and your countrymen's freedom is greedy. Especially if you expect to live in that freedom after the war is over.

One again remember I am saying this under the assumption that the draft is required in order to keep our county our own.

If it were a draft to fight in Iraq, Vietnam, etc I would not feel the same. Sure I would join, but if someone said they didn't want to and skipped out on it somehow I wouldn't judge them as harshly.

Also the car analogy is completely inaccurate. Firstly, because when driving a car, your fellow drivers are not trying to kill you. Secondly, if there was a draft then the casualty rate would be a lot higher than that of the current war in Iraq, or no draft would be needed.

True enough that it is inaccurate due to the fact that the death tolls would have to be higher in the war than they are now in order for a draft to come into effect.

Also if you compare the percentage of hours used daily in the military to hours used driving, the death rate for drivers isnt that bad compared to the death rate of those in the military.

However my point was not based on the deaths itself, but rather on the fact that if your going to put yourself in a situation as dangerous as driving, I feel you can not simply say fighting is too dangerous. The numbers were there simply to explain a relative death count.

 

[Franice]

I am not comparing deaths. All I'm saying is that more veterans develop mental illnesses, which often drive them to suicide, than people who do the same thing after being in car accidents. Perhaps it may have been slightly ambiguous wording on my part, but I assure you, I am not saying more veterans die from suicide than people who die in car accidents.

Your analogy is far too simplistic, because you act as if death is the only risk of war, and that isn't the case. The vast majority of those who object to the draft have more reasons that it being dangerous.

And, again, it is still redundant, because there is a huge difference between voluntarily putting oneself in danger and being involuntary forced into danger. That's like saying people who eat cheeseburgers once a week should be willing to skip across four lanes of traffic during rush hour because they have an increased risk of death with both. It makes no sense.

 

[poker king46]

actually it makes perfect sense,because there are some people who go into iraq and never fire a bullet,or have one fired at them.either way you slice it,accident or not its still more dangerous to get into a car and drive even a 1/10 of a mile.

and i thnk the united states should take a page out of germany's book and REQUIRE at least 2 years in the military.i myself would join,as i plan on joining once i finish highschool.

 

[Franice]

Well, I was going to dispute the first part of that post, but then I read the second and realized your complete lack of sense. Hmmmm....

This just so happens to be spam. Any similar post from anyone else will be deleted

 

[Shu]

and i thnk the united states should take a page out of germany's book and REQUIRE at least 2 years in the military.i myself would join,as i plan on joining once i finish highschool.

That would be tyrany my friend. It is your opinion so I will not disrespect it but I will go further in saying this.

I wrote this blog for one thing, to illustrate how real a draft might be in the next few years. It was to trigger an emotional response, but since this was such an "on the fly" blog, some of you might have misunderstood it.

Think..

1) Consider you are working fresh out of college or high school
2) Consider you are going to school and are above the age 18

Then you my friend are illegible for a draft. What this means is for all those liberal minded people who say "they will not fight" - well I do believe they will be made to fight eventually because of the lack of numbers we have in our armed forces according to the previous wars and according to other countries (china especially). Stats are stats, if we were to go head on with any other "powerful" nation (and what I mean by powerful is they have a heavy army or heavy navy or heavy nuclear power) then we need as many numbers as we could get. Fighting doesn't always mean numbers either.. it could mean Biological Weapons .. or as Hitler did he mass produced tanks and zerged the hell out of his enemy.

Fighting someone elses war is entirely different. We have not had a war broken out on our soil since the Civil War or Revolutionary War or if you call pearl harbor on our soil, so to think how much drastically our and everyone elses military has changed since is out of this world. I mean we have unpiloted planes bombing people now .. just imagine how bad it would be if these were to fall in the wrong hands. There are some sick sick people out there who fight their wars with a religious flag above their head all because they wish to rally people for their own hidden agenda.

So if you were called to fight for your country, You DO have the ability to flee and hide, but what it most likely comes down to will be that you will have to point the gun at some other human being, who came out of someone elses body.. who has a difference of opinion of a particular matter. What you call "Evil" could be entirely different than what they call "Evil" and because of this misunderstanding between cross cultural bounds.. you are deemed to kill him or now her.

Could you do this? Could you fight a war even if you were unaware of their opinions and what they were brain washed to believe? Or would you stand by your principles and leave the country for self preservation?

 

[Soul Saver]

I'd join as an officer if another world war were to happen. Better to die fighting than live in shame and cowardice.

Mod Edit: Posts in this section require more effort. Any other posts of this length will be deleted.

 

[Sephiroth Crescent]

I would sign up, and go along with my life, I'm not going to war because the draft is there, and also, even if I'm taken, I might not even see combat.

I wouldn't worry about the draft being re-instated, the only people who support it are two senators Charles Rangel, I forget the other individuals name sorry. But Charles is a Democrat from the state of New York, and he got his proposal shot down in 2006 by Nancy Pelosi( one thing shes done right ).

Heres his bio in case anybody wants to know more about him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rangel

- Sephir8th

 

[poker king46]

and you also have the right to your own opinion.true it is tyranny but i think it would do everybody some good if they were in the military.

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