Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
Originally posted by: Future Shock
Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
Originally posted by: Future Shock
The best way to check an overly aggressive government is to put the sons and daughters of the upper classes at the same risk as the lower classes that are forced to join the military for economic reasons. It doesn't have to just be the Bush twins - put the sons and daugters of the CEOs and board members of some of America's largest companies (like Halliburton and KBR) and see if they are so quick to run us into battle...
That's the rational of shared sacrifice - frankly it sucks from an Econ 201 perspective (inefficient use of resources) but scores well in Political Science and History (traditionally, the civilizations where the upper classes started to hire mercenaries- a "for pay" army - to fight their battles eventually suffered badly for it, usually by the dissolution of their civilization). You want to keep America strong in the long-term: balance the econ concerns with the historical concerns...it's probably some form of mandatory service, with a limited time in active uniform...
FS
I agree. My bet is we would never have invaded Iraq if the leadership of this country was absorbing it's share of the carnage. A lot more people would also pay attention to what is going on in the country, both politicaly and economicaly.
So we give up our basic freedoms and force certain groups of people to do something against their will to make ourselves feel better? Do we mandate that caucasions must be made slaves for 250 years to make things better? That males must lose the right to vote for the lack of women's suffrage in our early years?
At what point does the hatred of the 'rich' become bigotry?
You know, it is against my will to have to have a driver's license to drive an automobile. It is also against my will to pay taxes. It is against my will to be told that I just can't pull a .410 derringer and shove it into someone's midsection and pull the trigger, because I want his house and to have his wife. I consider these my basic freedoms, dammit.
You see where this is leading? We make EVERYONE do
something against their will - that is a basic tenent of society. You don't want that, then you are basically auditioning for the role of the Unabomber - a total anarchist.
Many, many civilizations require mandatory military or civil service. Are they all doing it because they hate the rich, or are bigots? Would the central Chinese government insist that it's military service laws are bigots, or because they hate the rich? How about Israel? Finland?
Just because the US hasn't chosen to have a draft or compulsive servcie for the past 30 years doens't mean that the practice of a draft or conscription for all is un-American. It just means we have chosen not to do it for a while...
FS
I'm not arguing against your support of military service (not in this post, at least.) What I'm arguing against is the notion that the rich (ooohh.. scary!) should be
forced to join the armed forces just like the poor are "forced" to do." :roll:
I'm sorry, but I don't believe in artificially limiting the rights/freedoms/abilities of others in order to "level the playing field," as that is counter-productive. Instead, the better, more "fair" approach is to broaden the rights and opportunites to include all groups. That why we freed slaves, instead of making everyone one. That's why we granted women's suffrage, instead of prohibiting the right to vote from men.
We're by no means perfect, but we are always striving to be better. And the only way to do that is to expand, not constrict. That's why affirmative action, salary-caps, hugely progressive taxation, prohibition, War on Drugs, etc are all non-workable ideas. They promote artificial limitations on some, in order to appease others. That may make some people feel better, but it certainly doesn't do much to benefit our country in the long run.