The Face of War (1/3/03)
by Dean Hartwell
I cannot put a human face on the
United States armed forces. I know that a high
percentage of them are minorities and that many joined
because they could not afford college, but I do not know
of too many people who will go to the likely war against
Iraq.
I bet that my inability to identify people in the
military is nothing new. After all, only one
member of Congress has a son or daughter enlisted.
Perhaps that explains why the House and the Senate voted
for the presidential use of force in Iraq two months
ago.
With talk that the Bush Administration will start
bombing later this month, now is the time to find that
elusive identity. With it, we can establish the
true will of the United States people.
How can we find the “face” of those who go to war?
We can bring back the draft. In fact,
Representative Charles Rangel will soon introduce
legislation to do that. He believes that military
service should be “shared sacrifice” among the young
adults in the United States.
The draft should include everyone, men and women,
between the ages of 21 to 30. The reason 21 should
be the minimum age is because those below that age
currently cannot drink or afford themselves of other
adult privileges. Only those with full adult
status should be asked to make this sacrifice.
Each woman should serve in the ways that they are best
capable. Women who meet the same physical
requirements that men do should go to combat. Like
men who do not meet standards, non-qualifying women
could handle non-combat assignments like cooking,
inventory and military police.
Conscientious objectors and those with disabilities that
do not allow them to serve in the military should
perform community service back home. They could
teach people how to read, for example, or perform other
tasks that benefit society.
With a large pool of available draftees, almost everyone
will know of someone drafted or likely to be drafted.
No one, especially not those who have the power to make
decisions on the use of the military, will be able to
ignore the faces of relatives and friends whose future
they hold in their hands.