tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8541215231205999960.post5085174266744329723..comments2023-09-22T04:46:38.949-07:00Comments on Leaves of the Palm: Back to the Future: Why I Would Restore the DraftEdward F. Palmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17578191336930881507noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8541215231205999960.post-309757539584184572009-10-01T21:05:05.396-07:002009-10-01T21:05:05.396-07:00No strain on our friendship at all. I'm looki...No strain on our friendship at all. I'm looking for dialogue, not universal approbation. I do have to point out, however, that falling back on Thoreau too can get you only so far. While there is much to admire about him, his self-reliance was more rhetorical than real. (The land he squatted on was not his, and as I understand it, he often went home to mom for meals.) But I think even Thoreau would have admitted that an organized military is a necessity in the modern age. My main concern is the obvious inequity presented by our All Volunteer Force. A little bad Churchill comes to mind: Never have so many expected so much of so few. And, granted, not everyone I knew in the military came out the better for the experience. But I know that for some it made all the difference--especially for me. Also, there is indeed a tongue-in-cheek aspect to my essay. If we still had a draft, would the Bush administration have taken us into Iraq? Would we still be slogging away in Afghanistan to no good effect? I don't think so. Where J. David Bell and I might well agree is that a professional military, largely staffed by an undereducated and underprivileged underclass, presents a temptation to our political leadership and a clear and present danger to our country. <br /> But enough with my retrograde ideas. What about my "Annals of the Rod and God Club"? I'm working toward a Certificate of Excommunication suitable for framing. <br /> Thanks for commenting. --EFPEdward F. Palmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17578191336930881507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8541215231205999960.post-33434295132855143692009-10-01T18:31:07.108-07:002009-10-01T18:31:07.108-07:00I'm going to have to disagree with Ed on this ...I'm going to have to disagree with Ed on this one (or maybe he's being tongue-in-cheek?). First, I'm not convinced that our schools are doing such a bad job of disciplining students--like all organizations, they're doing a bad job with some, a good job with others. Second, I'm not convinced the military does or would do any better. For every story of a wayward kid whose life got turned around by the military, there's a story of a wayward kid whose life stayed pretty much the same, or got worse, thanks to time served in the military. (I know this from experience with multiple cousins, friends, and girlfriends who went the military route. Some are doing great. Others are doing lousy. Anecdotal evidence only gets you so far.) And personally, I'd rather a kid stayed wayward and alive than got straightened out by a roadside IED. At the risk of straining my friendship with Ed, I'm going to paraphrase Thoreau: "That military is best that militarizes not at all."J. David Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00499792076455078070noreply@blogger.com