The Military Draft: A Moral Abomination

[zengrifter]

The Military Draft: A Moral Abomination

posted by populist
on Sep 12, 2007 - 07:31 AM

...Forcing someone to work for the state; forcing someone to kill or be killed; forcing someone to do anything at the point of a gun - under threat of prison or even death - IS involuntary servitude. Of all the forms of slavery that have existed throughout history, forcing someone to fight and die in war is by far the most disgusting...

An article in Newsweek, "Why We Need a Draft: A Marine's Lament," stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest online recently. It was written by a marine who fought in Fallujah, Iraq, and actually gave a pretty compelling overview of the practical need for selective service.

I'm sure the marine was right - forcing you or other people to kill or be killed next to him would have been good in the battles he fought in. In fact, I don't doubt that a few million more soldiers would be quite beneficial to the military - and to the foreign policy ambitions of the US government.

On the other hand, many Americans also persuasively argue against the draft, saying it's unnecessary or ineffective in defending America or engaging in foreign interventions. These arguments might very well be sound, and have their place.<!--more-->

Arguments about military "needs" or "benefits" aside, it seems that there's always plenty of politicians who absolutely love the concept of mandatory service to the state. To these types, the government IS America, and loving one's country is serving the state.

CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENTS

There are a number of solid constitutional arguments against the draft. The 13th Amendment makes quite clear that "involuntary servitude" is not permitted. And, the principle of "positive grant" espoused by the 10th Amendment states that any power not specifically given to the federal government by the constitution is "reserved to the States, respectively, or to the People." In short, this means that since there's nothing in the Constitution that authorized the federal government to conscript, they can't do it. Yes the principle really is that simple (and can be applied to everything else the feds do, but we'll leave that to other posts).

As compelling as these constitutional arguments may be, they still miss the mark.

MORALITY

The most important argument against the draft is moral. Whatever the excuse given for its implementation, the draft is a form of slavery. Period.

...more - http://www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle20432.html