Topic: Liberty
Why I am a Voluntaryist (I): Military service should be voluntary. (No draft) For those who believe in the draft (including the noveau label, "national service", which is a softer, gentler draft that allows a choice between the military and other government jobs), I'll briefly explain why it is morally wrong as well as unnecessary.by Jeremy West
(libertarian)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
This series of articles explains why I agree with all ten statements from the 90s version of "The World's Smallest Political Quiz" from theadvocates.org. I chose to use the old version rather than the current version because the current version has been revised to be inclusive of believers in small government while I want to show the reasons for an entirely voluntary society.
Military service should be voluntary. (No draft)
This one is easy for the vast majority of American people. That is why the draft has not been used since the Vietnam War, not even during our current unpopular protracted wars which supposedly need more troops.
For those who do believe in the draft (including the noveau label, "national service", which is a softer, gentler draft that allows a choice between the military and other government jobs), however, I'll briefly explain why it is morally wrong as well as unnecessary.
To put it bluntly, obligatory service is simply another word for slavery. If you are forced against your will to work for someone or some organization (under the threat of being locked in a cage, in this case), then you are a slave.
Don't get me wrong. I do not want to minimize the experience of the kind of legal slavery practiced in the USA until the 1860s:
1) That form of slavery promoted the intolerable idea that an entire race of people were lesser human beings, and racism in America today still stems from such despicable ideas.
2) Individual slave owners physically punished their slaves for inferior work, while government is not known for its intolerance of inferior work.
3) Far more people enslaved under the southern slave system saw the immorality of the system and tried to escape. These people were then punished physically, while most slaves escaped from obligatory service and caught simply put up with their prison terms. (Although if they tried to escape from prison they would find themselves punished physically as well.)
Suffice it to say, slavery in any form is wrong, even when the majority simply obey their masters and therefore the threat of violence is seldom made evident.
So, the fact that obligatory service is slavery makes clear why it is morally wrong. It is also unnecessary for our defense. If our country is attacked, the people will voluntarily rise to defend themselves. The only need for obliging people to "serve" is when the people do not actually believe in the cause.
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Posted By: Jake, the champion of the constitution
Date: 2008-07-20 06:10:19
Jeremy - agree with you, thumbs up. However I think you should also add in there that the draft is not only a form of and comparable to slavery, it is indeed far worse than the normal use of the term. by this i mean, a slave's work is owned by its master, but typically they arent killed or asked to kill. ie, as far as I am aware, the South didnt demand that all their slave fight in the front lines in the American civil war. however someone serving in a draft not only has their work owned by the nation-state, but they put their life in peril and may murder others.
I was wondering if part of the reason you wrote this is that we may see a draft in the coming years? if so, why?
It seems like this should be a hot topic, especially among the young. But there are only a few comments. One wonders why. Is it apathy? no one cares? If no one cares, the government will likely take that as a green light to reinstate the draft.
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