After watching the film A Volunteer Army or the Draft?, you are hopefully thinking a little deeper about the issue. I tried to make the connection in class between military service and sacrifice. Certainly most would agree that those that volunteer to serve in our armed forces are making significant sacrifices. So to are their families.
If the coast of freedom must be paid by those willing to sacrifice - to pay the ultimate price - than what obligation does the rest of society have to pitch in and contribute to the cause of securing that freedom? Does citizenship in our country require - if not legally, than morally - some measure of sacrifice?
We talked about society's that have required military service as a condition of citizenship. Should the United States hold its citizens to a similar standard? What would be the advantages and disadvantages of compulsory military service? Think beyond personal advantages and disadvantages. Consider the impact on society as a whole - positive or negative.
Finally, what level of sacrifice would you be willing to endure? What price are you willing to pay to secure the standard of living enjoyed by most Americans?
Remember, keep comments relevant. Keep the debate civil. And, most importantly, have fun!!
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42 comments:
i think people should pay more attention to the people in the war and give them more respect. i think maybe people should not fight they should talk out their differences and compremise.
oh and people should not go to war unless they wanted to. becouse this is supposed to be a FREE country!
I believe that people should pay more attention to the war, but we all have to worry about the economics too. I personally would not be good under fire, but would be an excelent pilot. But we may need Drafters in a state of emergency, otherwise I believe a volunteer army is the way to go.
I think many more people should be paying attention to the war/wars. They should know that it is important in our lives and should respect that. Many poeple should work on it! These women and men fight for OUR freedom, rights, and life, and we do nothing to respect or even think about this? ;]
To add on my thoughts on a Draft or Volunteer Army would be that we should have a Volunteer Army instead of a Draft. The Draft could be acceptable if we should have an emergency.
I think that we shouldn't have a draft cause well, the people who are drafted will be going against their religion, or, like being lazy, JUST to be kicked out. I belive that there are people who have to be drafted and they might be the next American idol or someone who might cure some lethal disease or somthing. i dont want a draft but if we REALLY REALLY need one we should choose people like people who are willing NOT to go to jail. So I say, NO DRAFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right on my sista Alysha! Right on! WE GOT TO SPREAD THE LOVE FOR OUR TROOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think that we should pay more attention to the war but what makes the usa such a great country is that we don't have to go to war unless we volunteer, so thats what makes us great. I think as long as people pay more attention, and people sign up then we are better off not doing the draft. Even if people don't sign up i still think that the draft is a bad thing. I would rather have 500,000 people in the army who know how to do their job and are good at it then 1,000,000 people who have no desires to be their and that obviously have no clue what their doing.
BOO THE DRAFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WELL ms. Marra soem people do not have healthy lifestyles and do NOT have the courage to sign up and help support their families cause they dont have a college, or high school degree and cant afford night classes and are stuck with a lousy job as a guy who ahs a gross job and Mike Rowe has already been there. So drafts are OKAYYY.......
OK I DISAGREE WITH ALL OF YOU PEOPLE. I DONT THINK PEOPLE SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE WAR IF THEY DONT WANT. BUT I AGREE WITH ALYSHA AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO SAYS AN ALL VOLUNTEER ARMY IS THE WAY TO GO.
well KENDRICK!!!!!! There are people DYING OUT THERE IN IRAQ JUST FOR OUR HEALTH AND SAFETY AND U SAY THAT WE SHOULDNT CARE ABOUT THEM?!?!?!?!?!? I THINK NOT! WE SHOULD BE HONORING THEM WITH LOVE AND OUR ATTENTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but still NO DRAFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok i think u get the point. SUPPORT OUR TROOPS.
Kendrick, how would you like to b e in the war, and come back and see that nobody cared that you nearly died.
I disagree with all of you except for Kendrik. I think there should be a draft because we could soon be running out of troops if this war keeps going on. I am not saying they should draft unless needed. I know there is people dying out there but we should not give up on this war, we need to fight until the end. That does not mean we don't care about our troops, it just means that we SHOULD stand for what we believe in. In case of emergency we need to draft as much as possible. I SAY YES TO THE DRAFT.
O.K. well, here it goes. Brian- like the video said we have nearly half a million (500,000) troop signing up and fighting. I think that an all-volunteer is good and bad, because right now we have people waiting to serve our country. People might have a tradition of serving in a armored forces and they might not get drafted with the draft. What if the draft pulled someone incapable of fighting, what will you do then?? You also might pull the next big inventor like the IPod.
All-volunteer is good. I would want to serve my country, but I wouldn't want to die doing so. I think that people should want to pay attention to the war. Society should want to celebrate for all the soldiers have done to keep our rights and let our lives be the best possible.
I agree with Milton Friedman from the video. It should be a volunteer army unless in dire emergency wich could be in the future actually. I totally agree with Kellie
the ups and downs of a volunteer army
-good
-less arguments and protests
-people understand and are willing to fight
-less of a hassle w/ people and gov.
bad
-not enough participation and troops
(thats all i can think of right now)
This is a free country so a volunteer army unless in emergency should be used. I think though it would be great to serve the army and their probably are great benefits, but would enough of the public be interested to serve (I don't want to serve)?
Think about it!(Sarah your comments are kind of weird and Kendrick people should at least care about the war man PEOPLE ARE DIEING SO YOU CAN LIVE SO YOU CAN GO TO MCDONALDS AND BUY A HAMBURGER IF YOU WANT TO! YOU SHOULD CARE- SOMEONE JUST DIED SO YOU CAN GROW OLD AND YOU THINK PEOPLE SHOULDNT CARE OR PAY ATTENTION TO THE WAR!!!???!!!! Omg -that is so rude ugggg im upset how you can say such a thing and that i got an F"a".)
UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
brian do you really want a draft do you really want the possibility that you and your friends could die??
well i still think volunteer army unless like Friedman said "dire emergency"
oh and Kellie yes 500,000 is an impressive number - we still need alot more- with the rate at which people are dieing defending are country(I cant believe I got and F-a)
when you first read the title to this article "what is the cost for freedom? and who should pay?" i immediately thought "everyone". i am TOTALLY against the whole drafting crap, and people come from all over the world to america to have the right to choose.
"how often do you think about all the people who die in the army, and who are fighting right now?" asked mr.veliz. i think about it all the time! (i think more about the children all around the world whos parents are dieing, and are poor and barely ever eat). but..... those people chose to do that, chose to do what they did, and chose to save all of americas future.
I for one DO NOT wish to serve time, even though i think all the people who do are heros, not complete idiots. being able to choose to fight in the army, is a privilege. i don't think that you should be required to fight in the army to be a 'citizen'. i think i would fight if i was drafted and only drafted. (which i dissagree with. i think only men should be drafted)
i totally agree with Kayley (sorry I gave you an F"a"):)
GO ANNA I totally agree with you. i don't really want to be in the army fighting becuase I don't want to die, even though I know that it is the right thing to do.
I think that the draft is only for dire emergencies- if people don't want to pay atttention to the war then that's not bad and that's not good- but it's their personal desicion.
My ups and downs with an all volunteer army
Ups
-people who want to serve are serving
-people who don't want to fight don't have to
-people can be nice and not grumpy
downs
-people aren't serving their country
-people aren't paying attention to the war
-people don't recognize our troops risking thier lives so we can be peacefull at home and not have a plane crashing into our house.
ups for a draft
-people will get to serve our country
-we would have enough troops
downs
-people might be unable/disorderly not able to fight
-people may not be able to fight because of religion
people who DON'T WANT TO FIGHT may have to fight
PERSONALLY I AGREE WITH BOTH FOR DIFFERENT REASONS BECAUSE PEOPLE SHOULD WANT TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY BUT NOT IF THEY DON'T WANT TO!!
I feel that we should have a draft. But not everyone should see combat though. I feel that they should should look at that person's grades through school and their SAT scores and if they are above C's than they should have the choice of seeing combat or being a mechanic or doctor or what not but if they are lower than that they should be trained to fight and see combat. I feel that this would be an advantage because you would be putting someone where they would excel. The disadvantages would be Draft Dogers. I would not mind taking that sacrifice if the draft was set up that way. I feel that with a draft it would force people to focus on the war instead of saying oh im not in it so it don't comcern me.
I feel that there should be a draft becasue all the other countries are doing this. They are making there army's strong. We are a great country and all of our boys should be willing to make that sacifice. As Jacob mentioned I do not feel that children who have the capability to become something other than a combat soldier should be forced to see combat. If they want to take our AP Program students then i feel they should be given the right to pursue there education for free and then serve for there country for 2 years.
I agree with Alysha. I think there shouldn't be a draft only if it is neccesary. The government shouldn't MAKE anyone fight against their will. I also like what Marina said. We should pay attention to the war and how the people over there are getting injured and possibly dying this very second. And think that those soldiers are connected to a family over here and that if they die, the family's hopes of seeing them for the holidays one more time are diminished. If I were to sacrifice something for someone else, it would have to be losing a whole months worth of breakfast, just to make someone(s) happy and not starving. NO TO DRAFT!!
i disagree with both of the Smiths (Jacob, and his mama)!!!! and anyone who agrees with the draft.
the main reason people want to come to america, is to be free! and coming to a free country is a privilege, but if you don't get the right to choose if you want to fight in the army (chance to die) or live the normal american life style.
Every one is talking about how much the draft is so bad. I no that we dont need the draft right now. But if we kept on goin with this war and we were losing troops i think there should be a draft. I think that we should pay attention to the war and if you dont your just stupid. But i think when we have the draft the should look into who they draft. I think kayley is right on her points about the draft. And Kendrik you should pay attention to the war. And i hate how all of you guys so that you would not want to go and defend the country. I would love to defend our country and i will when i get older because i would rather sacrifice my life for billions of others.
See Sarah,your eyes must be crooked or somethin because i never said we shouldnt care about our troops. All I said was that if people dont want to pay attention to the war, then they dont have to. And phillip, I really wouldnt mind that when i came back from war and no one cared that I nearly died, because I know that no one told me to go out there anyway. And you Kayley. No one is telling those volunteers to go out there. They go out there to protect us and I apprecitae that,but as I said no one has to pay attention to the war. I never said that they shouldnt pay attention.
I still think there shouldn't be draft becuase with a draft, people are forced to do things they don't want to. Back kwhen my dad was a kid, he was drafted but lucky for him, he wasn't picked. But think about all of those other 18 year old people who were and how they probably felt sorry for their families who khad to deal with this. I think 18 years old is too young for someone to be fighting, right? So why was the drafting age so young then? People need to understand that many people are unwilling to fight because of religion and/or disabilities(thnx to Sarah). If I was an adult right now, i would do any thing I could in order to help people wether it meant fighting for their lives or just supplying them with things they need(food, clothes, etc.). WE also need to support our troops as much as we can(even if it means sending them toilet paper)so they don't suffer from disease or from homesickness. For example, my girlscout troop made cards for the troops so they could send them to their families for the holidays. But unfortuneatly i agree with Jacob. the people drafted( if we end up having a draft) should have thier grades checked and also if they cooperate with others well, other wise they shouldn't be chosen( if we have a draft).
Kendrick u are so empty headed! wat if we DO have a draft and no one is prepared? no 1 knows wat the heck is going on and they have no idea wat they r fighting 4! the army may tell them but they have no idea wat kind of difficulties they r headed towards! they might die on the spot from the lack of knowledge of the forign country! we have to inform our children about wat the country is going through and they might have a good idea on how to end our suffering. we have to get better schools so the children will be updated on the wars and tell them that any day they could be drafted once they reach 18 or if they lower the age level! we have to inform the older people to!
Happy Superbowl Saunday
GO STEELERS??? i don't know who they are but go!!?
I don't agree with Jacob because it shouldn't matter what you're grades are if we have a draft and you're name was selected then you fight, I don't agree with grades. I don't agree with Jacob's mom either because making a draft army doesn't neccesarily make that army strong because there could be weak and frigid people. I agree with Dylan and heather.
I went on to the district fair!!:)
Jacob Smith's mom my daddy would be fighting in the war right now if a draft was instituted.
hi! wait a minute, whos winning the game? idk im like, busy
i've noticed a few people in this blog are making their opinions a bit to closed-minded for my taste. I think that a draft is a good idea, just as well as a "utopia" but in reality they fail. Sometimes people just need to man up and join the army when their country needs them. After all, this country was founded on the blood, sweat, and tears of all of our ancestors, so why shouldn't we "pay them back" by serving our country as intended? If you havent caught on, I find it hard to believe that a draft is even necessary in this great country we call America
I disagree with ALL YALL. exept brian and kendrick. bshh ill go over there and fight. If not we will lose all of our soldiers soon because most of you people are becoming soft on me. People should wanna go and fight and all that because its a good thing to do. If none of those people over there wanted to go and fights our nation would already be like, done with. We would have probably have already been blown up by those people that our soldiers are over there fighting. So either start volunteering and serve, or heck, start up the draft. :) yess sir.
The ups of the draft are that we would have plenty of people fighting. We would also have plenty of people ready if we needed them.
The down parts of the draft are that we would have a bounch of people that are afraid to get dirty out there not having a clue what to do and cause proplems.
Was i serioulsly last. was i tha last person to bloggggg??? Huum hope not haha
Sarah what in the world are you talking about??????? Crazzyy..
I agree with everyone who say that we should have a volunteer army and that we should be paying more attention to the war. If we don't pay attention now, then things cannot turn out right later on, but if look into it now then the circumstances would be right.If we have the draft army rule, then the people who are picked might not be willing to fight and you cannot force anyone against their will.In a volunteer army, people are be willing to fight and know what is going on, and they are proud that they are serving for their country.
i know im late but... i think that more people should pay attention to the war. i dont totaly disagree with a draft, but i also dont think that people should be forced to go over there and fight in a war if they dont want to. this is a free country and i think they should have the right to shoose.
a draft might be a good thing thought because it might encourage more people to sign up/
:)
I think people should definitely pay more attention to the war, but I think an all volunteer war is the way to go. If there is not enough volunteers to fight in the war the government better bring in the draft and start lining up people to fight,whether they like it or not. If they don't then they will be putting the whole country in danger.
I think many more people should be paying attention to the war/wars. They should know that it is important in our lives and should respect that. Many poeple should work on it! These women and men fight for OUR freedom, rights, and life, and we do nothing to respect or even think about this? ;]
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