We were polarized as a people. The war devastated families. The end of the draft and the beginning of an "all-volunteer" Army was hailed by many, myself included, as a good and welcome thing.

I believe now that we were wrong. Without the draft, young people have had little incentive to think about the obligations of a citizen to his or her country, have less of a personal stake in the politics of government. I believe the rise of the so-called "Me Generation" was a direct result of the lack of any obligation to public service.

In the time of the draft, every male had to know what he was going to do. Every mother and father knew their sons were potentially up for grabs. Some men went eagerly, some were able to afford college or got medical deferments, some went reluctantly but with the knowledge that they had a duty to their country, some went as an alternative to jail, some believed their duty to their country was resistance to the war and the draft. But no matter which path was taken, ethical, moral judgments were made.

The other result was that a citizen army had a personal stake in the conduct of war. It was citizen pressure that ended America's involvement in Viet Nam, not military strategy.

I believe this country needs a program of national service for both men and women which would involve non-military as well as military options. Every citizen ought to be involved, in some way, in serving the greater good. That might give more people perspective on how their own lives mirror the life of our society and enhance the idea that we need, individually, to share as well as to profit, to give as well as to get.
2:12:17 AM    Comments?()