Defend Decision Against the U.S. Draft Against

Defend Decision Against the U.S. Draft Against the Draft The United States is still in the midst of a harsh and unrelenting conflict in both Iraq and Afghanistan. As out forces continue to struggle, many within the United States have begun advocating the need to reinstate the military conscription known as the draft as a way to increase the variety and number of troops serving in today's contemporary military structure.

However, these arguments prove to be problematic, and it is clear that reinstating the draft would not properly diversify the military, and would rather only subjugate American men from enjoying the freedom of choice -- an essential element to the freedom so many fight and die for. The American military draft was a practice of the Select Service System. According to the research, "For more than 50 years, Selective Service and the registration requirement for America's young men have served as a backup system to provide manpower to the U.S.

Armed Forces," (Powers, 2010, p 1). The draft as we know of it today was started by then president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940 in order to increase the number of service members in the military during one of the United States most prolific wars, World War II (Selective Service System, 2011). The president drafted the Selective Training and Selective Service Act in order to ensure the American military had the numbers it needed to overthrow the axis powers.

From 1948 to 1973, the draft was used as a mandatory way to "fill vacancies in the armed forces which could not be filled through voluntary means," (Powers, 2010, p 1). The draft was done in a lottery where birthdates were chosen and then all registered men born on those days were then brought into military service (Selective Service System, 2009). However, the draft ended in 1973, which essentially converted the American military to an all-voluntary one (Selective Service System, 2011). Nowadays, the draft is not longer a likely occurrence for most American men.

However, all males in the United States ages 18 to 25 must still register for the draft (Powers 2010). Penalties of not doing so include up to a $250,000 fine and also exclusion from federal employment positions, and even federal financial aid. Registering for selective service is also a requirement of citizenship (Selective Service System, 2011). This system still in place makes it possible to reinstate the draft, which has created a fierce argument within current American politics.

Those who support the reinstatement of the draft often cite the following arguments as why it is both necessary and beneficial. The draft ensures that all are sacrificing in order to protect the liberties we all enjoy. George Washington was quoted as saying "it must be laid down as a primary position and the basis of our system, that every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free government owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal service to the defense of it," (Gill, 2010, p 3).

Having a voluntary military forces a greater burden on a fewer number of Americans, and the draft will help redistribute that burden to a greater breadth of Americans. An additional argument for the presence of a draft system is the concept that it will include upper class recruits within the military, where the voluntary program recruits on average middle or lower class individuals. Moreover, a draft would make available a larger cross section of potential soldiers, essentially increasing the quality of U.S. recruits (Gill, 2010).

This would keep the military devoid of major vacancies that might put it in danger. However, these reasons do not prove strong enough in order to re-instate a military draft system within contemporary American military affairs, and can be exposed based on their problematic natures. First of all, in a democratic system, it is difficult to force people to serve in the military. The basis of democracy is a personal choice, and enforcing a draft subjugates that basic right.

The draft restricts the freedom of choice, which this country is so whole-heartedly based on. It creates a form of slavery in that individuals lack the ability to choice, which is essentially the primary tenant of freedom itself (Gregory, 2005). Research suggests that "Compelling a person to work for the state is involuntary servitude. Forcing a person to fight, kill, and possibly die in a war is a particular immoral brand of enslavement, and it is murder for all conscripts who do not survive the war," (Gregory, 2005, p 1).

Stating that the draft will help force upper class individuals to serve in the military is also an issue which is not as clear cut as many would like to present it to be. According to the research, "The sons of the elite will find ways to avoid service," (Moskos & Glastris, 2006, p 1). Thus, the equality proponent of the draft claim proves to be a fallacy, and the military would still prove to be largely made up of lower and middle class servicemen.

The argument stating that the draft helps fill vacancies is also problematic. The high-tech nature of modern warfare does not need such high populations of reserve military personnel, "Thus one argument against the draft makes the case that highly.