Should Women Have to Sign up for the Draft?
I recently stumbled across this article, Making Women Sign Up for the Draft Would be the Height of Stupidity: http://townhall.com/columnists/johnha...
Here are a few quotes:
"Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie all blundered right into her trap and agreed that we should take the radical step of forcing young women to sign up for a potential draft."
"... while we should certainly appreciate women who serve our country, it doesn’t change the fact that the more women you put into combat, the worse our military will perform."
"Have we gotten so mired in this faux feminism,” “You go, girl” culture that we can’t even admit that men are generally much better suited to kill other men than women?"
"However, if we ever stoop to drafting women and forcing them to fight our battles, it would be one of the most foolish and shameful moments in our nation’s history."
- - - - -
My opinion:
Frankly, I thought this article was condescending. I don't understand why it is radical to ask women to take the same risks as men.
This article is saying "It is okay to ask (or force) men to kill other men and potentially sacrifice their own lives but it is not okay to ask the same of women".
If a woman isn't physically equipped to fill a role, don't put her in that role... but the same can be said for men. The military wouldn't make a person that is 5'2 and 120 pounds a SEAL regardless of gender.
The fact that women are typically smaller and lighter than men doesn't automatically preclude them from in some way serving their country. Draft women for other roles or at least evaluate women to see if they are equipped to serve in combat positions.
I believe in equality. Not superiority. That means I want to be treated just as my male counterpart is. Not better. Not worse.
- - - - - -
I would love to know what other Gulchers think of this issue and the article.
Here are a few quotes:
"Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie all blundered right into her trap and agreed that we should take the radical step of forcing young women to sign up for a potential draft."
"... while we should certainly appreciate women who serve our country, it doesn’t change the fact that the more women you put into combat, the worse our military will perform."
"Have we gotten so mired in this faux feminism,” “You go, girl” culture that we can’t even admit that men are generally much better suited to kill other men than women?"
"However, if we ever stoop to drafting women and forcing them to fight our battles, it would be one of the most foolish and shameful moments in our nation’s history."
- - - - -
My opinion:
Frankly, I thought this article was condescending. I don't understand why it is radical to ask women to take the same risks as men.
This article is saying "It is okay to ask (or force) men to kill other men and potentially sacrifice their own lives but it is not okay to ask the same of women".
If a woman isn't physically equipped to fill a role, don't put her in that role... but the same can be said for men. The military wouldn't make a person that is 5'2 and 120 pounds a SEAL regardless of gender.
The fact that women are typically smaller and lighter than men doesn't automatically preclude them from in some way serving their country. Draft women for other roles or at least evaluate women to see if they are equipped to serve in combat positions.
I believe in equality. Not superiority. That means I want to be treated just as my male counterpart is. Not better. Not worse.
- - - - - -
I would love to know what other Gulchers think of this issue and the article.
But people shouldn't be valued, in general, they should be valued for their individual abilities.
I would make a lousy soldier, in general, but I might contribute greatly in other ways, if I did so voluntarily.
Let anyone serve who is qualified to perform the job, and who has the ability to understand what they are volunteering to do.
(Yes, they should also be provided the truthful data to make the decision.)
No draft of anyone. No one sent to die under threat.
Yes, I agree. It's so simple. Looking at group affiliation is complicated and error prone.
Should women join the armed services? Yes, and they should be assigned whatever they can prove they can handle.
And that goes for guys.
There should just be acceptance criteria for the job at hand, and let the chips fall as they may.
As to military slavery, I think its immoral to have a draft, period. Not that I would be great as a foot soldier at my age, I can still pull a trigger or fly a drone if it came down to protecting myself or my family, and I wouldnt have a problem doing those things. If defense required the services of a big muscled young person, I would just have to find one and hire him.
Jan
China's military strategy is all about overwhelming brute force. Unless those drones are dropping nukes, it's pretty hard to stop an army of their size short of a similar overwhelming brute force or nukes. (http://www.globalfirepower.com/countr...)
And we should also mention Iran's recent hack of a drone to take it over mid-flight.
To me, drones are an interesting idea for use in surgical strikes against unsophisticated enemies. Beyond that ...
The point I was making is that the conventional standards for 'fit to serve in combat' are no longer applicable. You can have people in their 60's+ flying drones (thus removing the age limitation); you can have women in combat (thus removing the gender limitation). Having someone 'willing to fight' is now the major criterion. While we still need physical people on the ground, more than just women have been excluded from combat - and this is no longer the case.
Thank you for the site!
Jan
Regarding women serving in the military: it reminds me of a sci-fi book I read where some humans crash land on an alien planet and have to fight their way through jungle and hostiles to a spaceport for extraction. The hostiles are lizard-types but with gender-reversal - it's the "females" who do all the fighting. And because of the superior firepower of the human marines, they decimate the population of females and push the entire species to the brink of extinction.
Jan
Jan
I think it takes a skill set more commonly found in men to wage war. The idea of equality (for draft purposes) is based on the notion that either sex is equally capable - mentally, physically, and emotionally - to handle war. I don't believe that to be the case. With the Israelis, as every one of their citizens who turns 18 has to serve time in the military, but you don't see many women who choose to stay there, and they aren't typically part of the reserves.
Jan
If you don't pay attention to this and have a silly draft registration then all sexes should sign up for it -- however many sexes you recognize. If you do have a draft assign duties as appropriate.
But much more time is involved in sweating out a summons for a war in Vietnam that I did not believe was worth any American dying for.
As for the summons, Nixon provided a photo of his smiling face on a letter that began, "Congratulations! You have been inducted into the Armed Services."
The honorable discharge DOES look good on a resume, though.
It added 5 points to a test I had to pass to go to the Alabama DOC Academy in Selma for my career job.
Proof of military service was required by Wackenhut when I got into a money pinch after I retired. I'm fully retired now.
But if men must, then women must.
Drafting only men is sexism and violates equal protection of the law.
But again, the draft itself is a form of slavery. It is grossly unjust to threaten someone with prison or death to send them where they run a high risk of being killed. It's gross violation of the rights to life and liberty.
While teenage boys who are learning to deal with conflicts often do go to violence as an answer, and teenage girls often go to backstabbing and rumor mongering both revert to force if not taught to be mindfully better than the method of force in there thinking.
Now those are generalizations and there will be those outside of them. In the end non of it should matter because there should be no draft ever. If the cause is just and people see it as valuable you will have enough who will fight by there own agency. If not you wont get people to join up. That is how it should work and gender does not matter, so long as the requirements for a job are met.
Women are learning that we 'may' be more assertive and aggressive as we are allowed to earn our own living and do not have to create our lives around finding a male solar breadwinner to revolve around. On the other hand, I would have made an excellent front line soldier - I personally have all the instincts for it - but that option was not permitted. That was stupid of the military.
Jan
Bottom line to me:
1) To big a deal is made out of gender. Have requirements for a job, and then anyone who meets the requirements can do the job, but no different requirements based on gender or race or anything else. Just whatever the requirements are, the same for everyone.
2) No Draft. Ever, not needed if the cause is just and a Draft just says we are the property of the government anyway which we are not.
The military would take a person 5'2" and 120 pounds and make that person into a tunnel rat, and in Vietnam, that is exactly what happened.
But "Abaco" got it right, nobody should. Or, nobody must.
individual rights, whether for men, women, or both.
Also, women, not being as physically strong as men, would not do as well in combat. And if you
have more women going in to be put into other
capacities, thus freeing up more men for com-
bat, the men will naturally resent it, as putting
less value on their lives than on the lives of
women.
Those who refuse to wield the sword can still die upon one (or something like that).
Whoopie doo you godda gun. So what? Did you use it? No. Did you do anything? I don't know. If you did it wasn't enough. since the bill was containing the newest add on restrictions and changes was passed 85% in Congress .....
Our side lost... while the public did nothing, didn't have to bury their heads in the sand. Their heads have been buried for over a decade.
As long as the American people are able to exercise their 1st and 2nd Amendment rights, they will remain a "free" people...excepting, of course, the possibility of anarchy.
If our government were so sure of it's control over us...they wouldn't constantly be trying to "take" our guns. Trust me...they still fear us (though, they may not realize just how much).
The strange adventure continued, as I was thwarted at every attempt to attend professional officer schools, which should have spelled the end of my career, since without those I shouldn't have been promotable to Major. As I prepared to end my service at 12 years, I was suddenly given a regular commission and promoted to Major, again because I was a "critical resource." I was obligated to stay to 20, but departed as a Lt Col before they could find another reason to keep me.
There's a lesson in that story about volunteering, and how it can put your fate in the hands of bureaucrats.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/20...
Now, should their be a draft? I say "no" because we have the volunteer military but if there is a draft, and women are equal, "hell yes they should be in the draft!" Body-size aside, men can stay in the U.S. and conduct themselves just as women can. Awebb's comparison of women to small men is spot-on because young, small, and wimpy men with families were drafted just the same as larger, stronger, and single males.
Jan, "Lady" does not = "weak"
I find women to be brutal.
Those crying that without the pool of possible draftees being readily available, must have been under a rock when 9/11 happened. Within days after the attack there were huge numbers of volenteers signing up for military service and I have no doubt if needed there would be similar people coming forward in the future if need be. Also, because of the advancements that have been made to our military infrastructure, I would also daresay that the numbers needed would be much less in the future due to the our capabilities (there will always be a need for infantry for on the ground needs, but fewer would be needed to be put into harms way when we have precision armaments to make better surgical strikes).
It should always be a choice.
That doesn't mean that they should be kept from serving voluntarily in combat roles, should they be qualified to do so, BUT....
Just because some citizens are getting treated as slaves, doesn't justify that even more should be enslaved. The concept of equality of treatment or fairness doesn't not apply to criminal violation of individual rights.
Anyone who can avoid being involved in draft registration by any means whatsoever, including lying or running away (just as similar actions are justified in the face of a mugger on the streets) is justified in doing so, and I happy for them to have done so.
LOL
Then, there are these people who think that every kid should be forced to serve a term "like in Isreal". Meanwhile, my neighbor's daughter couldn't wait to get out of the Army because she was continually sexually harassed in there. Yeah...molest my daughter Uncle Sam... The addled masses have this dreamy image of America - that everybody's pure and you can just hand your kids over to the government.
Don't forget to take away all the guns, too. Wouldn't want a grey snowbird uprising.
I did not serve in the military but I would have to think I would feel more protective of a female soldier than a male soldier. It would probably cause me to make mistakes and take chances I otherwise probably wouldn't take. Not trying to be insulting it's just the way I think.
If you care to read a narrative, allow me to recommend Love My Rifle More Than You by Kayla Williams.
https://www.galtsgulchonline.com/post...
The proper answer would be either make equality equal or admit to being sexist with a bonus and a break for being the weaker sex.
I'm in favor of.....a. COMPLETE equality or b. canceling the bonus for both or some other answer that is not a lie but shows knowledge of and appreciation of
the best answer is if we don't need it why not repeal it entire
second best answer. Enlarge the scope of service in exchange for the juicy freebie goodies. Any public service AS assigned....
Once, when I (veteran fighter) was trying to coax a male opponent (newbie) into giving me a good fight at a practice down at Mile Square Park, he stopped and said, "I just can't get used to the idea of hitting a woman. I was raised to protect them!" A high-prestige, high ranked male fighter wandered over to us, clapped him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry: You'll get over it." and strolled off. My opponent's jaw dropped. We squared off against each other again and I threw a few really hard blows right into his shield, and then came at him vigorously. He 'forgot' he was fighting a woman and pushed back and we had some good fights. From then on, whenever I fought him we had good hard competitive fights.
So yes - you are a nice guy and you would initially react to protect the women (who would all be new to combat to boot). But after they had gotten some battlefield experience and you had saved each other's butts a few times in action they would have been 'part of the team'.
Jan
Of course I side with no draft at all but if there is to be one equality demands all genders be drafted. And since we are told that jobs must somehow be distributed in a way which reflect the demographics then they must be drafted slightly more than men since women account for slightly more than half of our population (last I knew). That way we wouldn't show any sexism, right?
Oh and that last line was 49% pure sarcasm. ;)
Jan
When the USA goes to war to defend itself, it should do so to WIN. In the case of fighting with an enemy, that means we kill them before they kill us. I would have no problem killing an enemy soldier at all. Call it politically incorrect, but if the enemy had a bomb and was going to kill me, I wouldnt care if it were a woman or a child even.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Load more comments...