Bring on the draft

There's a secret draft in this country. Every day, lower-income Americans are effectively drafted into the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. Sure, we don't call it a draft, but due to the attractive benefits offered by the military, joining up is often one of the few ways for poorer teenagers to have any hope of going to college.

For the fortunate in America who can elect not to fight, it is easy to forget there is a war in which people are fighting and dying halfway around the world. There is an incredible sense of apathy among Americans about the war in Iraq, indicated by their lack of knowledge about it. In a poll conducted by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland shortly before the middle of May and reported on by thestate.com, a full one-third of Americans believed that weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) had been found in Iraq, and 22 percent believed that chemical or biological weapons had actually been used in Iraq. Nothing could be further from the truth. There has been no evidence of WMD production in Iraq; even the President is admitting that much of their pre-war intelligence was flawed, according to MSNBC.

The lack of even the most basic knowledge about the conflict in Iraq among most Americans demonstrates a disturbing lack of interest. Even though many Americans do seem to judge the war in Iraq as inconsequential, it is certainly not costless. According to The Washington Post, 1,149 Americans had been killed in Iraq as of Nov. 12, 2004. While such casualty statistics pale compared to those of Vietnam, Korea or other American wars, there has still been a substantial number of American casualties in a war that no one is paying attention to.

The best way to focus attention on the war and to force people to become involved and critically consider the war would be to reinstate the draft without gender discrimination or the opportunity for college deferments. For most Blair students, that is a severely scary proposition. I will be 18 in less than two years and will be eligible for any draft that takes place after that. Many Blair seniors have friends or boyfriends that are already registered with the selective service system or are themselves registered, as required of almost all males between the ages of 18 and 25. Additionally, the students at Blair are very conscious of political issues, living so near to the nation's capital. However, for many Americans, the war in Iraq and anything associated is nowhere near the forefront of their thinking. By reinstating the draft and bringing the war to these Americans' doorsteps, to their grandsons, sons, friends and husbands, Americans will no longer be able to ignore the current situation in Iraq.

In fact, it is not imprudent to say that the U.S. should enact a law requiring a draft when the U.S. has sustained over a certain number of casualties in any one locale. There aren't any situations that easily come to mind where it would be a bad thing for the President or the American people to more carefully consider the possible repercussions of a war.

The majority of Americans, who fall into the middle-class income bracket, don't have to worry about anyone close to them going into the military, voluntarily or otherwise, and have been completely ignoring what is going on in Iraq right now. With a draft, these people's attention will suddenly be focused on the issues at hand. Finally, people will be forced to actually think about the reasons for a war in Iraq and evaluate whether they still think it is worth it now that their loved ones' lives are on the line.