Quote:
|
Originally Posted by theapportioner
But do you think that an all-volunteer army makes, for most people, an abstraction out of war? Iraq becomes this "other" thing, distant from our lives, when it should be everybody's concern.
|
Pardon me for being crass, but you don't necessarily
want the people to be overly involved. We have a civilian military, led by civilians, people to serve and protect the constitution and those civilians. Presidents, much like soldiers, often have to do unpleasnat and difficult things, such as sending someone's child to foreign soil to die. Regardless of the cause, that's a pretty tough thing to do, and it's perhaps a burden/responsibility that shouldn't be left to the masses.
I also think we should give the public the benefit of the doubt in terms of their actual awareness about this war. Poll numbers have been pretty down on it lately, primarily b/c it's beginning to look like an endless situation with no clear exit strategy or resolution. People tend to love going to war for noble causes, but they're not too fond of nation building and all that unpleasant after stuff. Goes again back to my point about the impulses of the public. But I think the general public has a pretty good finger on Iraq.
Quote:
|
I'm just wondering what impact the elimination of the draft has had on civic responsibility in the States.
|
Well, I think that depends on what you consider "civic responsibility" to be. Despite low enlistment rates, Americans are considered to be pretty big on volunteerism (particularly the younger generations). Groups like AmeriCorps, PeaceCorps, and Teach for America ae still pretty strong. The non-profit industry is almost suffocating from too much involvement and not enough cash.
If you're getting at some kind of compulsory service, not necessarily military in nature, well I'd be down with that.
Hybrid Mode
