Why I Want the Draft Reinstated

Calling for a draft when we have an all-volunteer army right now is not a very popular position to take, but I have my reasons. the first is that I really don't think most people in the United States are feeling the pain of the war in Iraq. We don't have to save metal or scrimp like they did in WWII, or have victory garden, so all extra food, metal and cloth could go to the troops. We don't see the dead coming home in coffins, like we did during Vietnam, and we don't see as much of the war in Iraq as we did during the Gulf War-this administration has done an admirable job of shielding most average Americans from feeling the pain and agony of this war-it doesn't take much an effort to avoid it. My friend D said to me today that she didn't understand why, with me living in Washington DC, there weren't protests on a weekly basis against the travesty that is the war in Iraq. But with most people not feeling the pain and the burden being mainly on the lower classes (who joined the military to get an education or to get out of the small town or just to see something different), who can't get out and protest-most people aren't experiencing the fear and agony borne by the military and their families.
That's why I think we need the draft-and I wouldn't be surprised if it happened, but I think the Bush Administration is going to do everything it can to avoid it. The so-called May Surge is not working, so what happens next? If we have a draft reinstated, you better believe that all those upper and middle-class boys are going to get out there and protest-and so will their parents (I personally think their parents would LOVE an opportunity like this to get out and protest). Once the upper and middle-classes start feeling the pain, and their sons and daughters start dying far away in the Middle East, I believe we would see massive protests on an almost a daily basis here in DC. I would hate to see more people die-too many are dying now. But the people who are dying now are almost invisible, except to their friends and family. Yes, it's in the papers and on the news but it doesn't get nearly the coverage the Vietnam or the Gulf War received. This war has been long and bloody and that is not about to change-but if you bring in the sons of the privileged, I believe that we would really see a sea change in the feelings of the American public about this war-and it may be the only thing that could do it.