¶ … Capsule: Military life today

If I were creating a time capsule about military life today, the first thing I would include is a newspaper with a headline article about the end of the draft. The headline would explain how serving in the military was made voluntary in America. This would show that people choose to serve in the military freely today, rather than upon compulsion. I would also include a newspaper with an editorial calling for the reinstatement of the draft, reflecting the belief of some people that military service should be required of our nation's youth in a more democratic fashion.

I would include an example of the love people have for the troops, such as a collection of letters written by schoolchildren written to the troops in Iraq, and a sign on a box that asked people to donate books and CDs to the troops.

I would include a laptop with a link to a soldier's blog who is serving in Iraq, which would show how troops are able to freely talk about their experience (barring revealing military secrets, of course) and also how they are sometimes critical of the government, even while they proudly serve.

I would include a DVD with a clip from the first debate between President Barak Obama and Senator John McCain, in which McCain told a story of how a woman with a son serving in Iraq begged him to keep American troops in that land, so her son would not die in vain. Obama responded that he also wore a bracelet given to him by a woman whose child had died in the fight, a woman who begged him to bring the troops home so no other mother would have to suffer as she had suffered. The quality of this level of debate about a questionable military enterprise would stand as testimony to our democracy.

Finally, I would include a biography of Colin Powell, a man who has served his nation proudly in combat, and most recently as Secretary of State, despite the prejudice he faced in his lifetime.