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WE NEED THE MILITARY DRAFT BY KELLY THOMAS
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In the movie, Biloxi Blues, the last scene you see is Eugene Jerome(a young Neil Simon), riding on the train and commenting on what his being in the Army has meant to him. Mainly, that a Brooklyn Jew suddenly thrown in with other people from different backgrounds and cultures he would have never known otherwise learns to love and appreciate them. He says something like, "When I was in the Army, I hated these people and the life. Now, I love them and would do anything for them." Eugene Jerome's story could be told a thousand times over.
As a nation, I don't think we have ever needed the draft more.
During the draft years, every young man in America had to factor what the draft meant to his future: What am I going to do about the military? Now, of course, that is not even considered.
What Neil Simon(Eugene Jerome) was talking about was in Biloxi Blues is that the Army erased all class distinctions. Suddenly here were high school dropouts with college graduates, with middle class, and poor. It was a true melting pot. Sure, draftees didn't like being in, but like a lot of kids when they are young, when it's over, they're the first to say that I wouldn't take anything for it. It was a time when people in the military learned to value each other; and, in a true sense, their diversities.
The military draft created a homogenizing effect that meant that every swinging Richard, so to speak, could go into any bar or church and say to a total stranger, "I remember when I was in the service." Instant rapport!
The draft was good for everybody. Think racial for one thing. The Army has done so much better a job of truly integrating than the civilian world. And, what opportunities the military gave to minorities! When I was in Korea last at Camp Red Cloud, we had five African American sergeant majors; three of them were female and they were great. I only mention them to make the point: Every one of them had tales of how they had come up through the ranks- an opportunity from their perspective.
And, of course, the draft is needed for manpower. Please! Give me a break. If we are to fight wars like Iraq, how are we going to do it in the future, not like we are now I hope. Relying on the Guard and the Reserves won't hack it; think prison scandal.
The draft is the only answer. It is one of the few things I have passion about; I seriously don't think there's a chance in hell of it getting reinstated unless someone comes up with a plan and then it is doubtful-our political leaders don't have the guts.
I have a plan but don't quite know how to pull it off. The country needs the draft, we need it for ourselves. Initially, to get it reinstated will be hard but eventually, it will be OK and accepted- it could take ten years. What I'm hoping is that we'll be forced into it. Thus far, I think we've been able to throw enough money at keeping the volunteer army, but Iraq has awakened us. If Iraq continues, if soldiers do not reenlist to meet military goals, we may be forced to do something.
We need an effective lobby to get us back to the draft. Congressmen who are up for reelection and oppose the draft must be made to state their position and when they say, "No Draft" we have to get them defeated. How to do that is the issue! It would take money, organization, and passion. Some of these millionaires instead of spending millions to defeat Bush or vice versa should be putting their money to doing something really good for the country like getting the draft reinstated. Give me some Feedback
August 23, 2004
[ Note: Biloxi Blues is the second in a trilogy of films about Neil Simon's life,a famous playwright. The film follows Neil Simon (Eugene Jerome) from Brooklyn, New York to training camp in Biloxi, Mississippi. This film is adapted from a play about Neil Simon's experiences after World War II(semi-autobiographical) The movie is humorous, and brings back alot of memories for veterans, especially World War II veterans.]
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PLAYING FOOTSY WITH THE ENEMY BY KELLY THOMAS
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Think about it: truce talks are going on between al-Sadr's rebels and the Iraq government. Can you imagine how frustrated the Marines are? The word is that Iraqi forces are going against al Sadr's militia: it will be like putting the "ruff puffs" against the NVA, (North Vietnamese Army). The Ruff Puff’s were local militia who didn’t want to fight anyway; they wanted to be working their rice paddies or they were not on our side anyway.
In Iraq, we are negotiating with a guy who has his own private army and is holed up in the holiest mosque in Iraq, now almost worshipped according to various reports by millions of Iraqis because he hates Americans.
The New York Times had an article that showed who has the relative power in Iraq. American commanders imposed a 16 hour a day curfew on Sadr City, a part of Baghdad. Moqtada al-Sadr,the rebel we are negotiating with, issued his own curfew over all of Baghdad. Who do you think that the good folks of the city listened too? They virtually ignored the American curfew.
The rebel fighters are ignorant to the max: remember the martyr types who are loving it because they can get 139 virgins. And, in reality, I think we have only one choice: we have to take MacArthur’s approach toward the Chinese in the Korean War: kill as many as possible. We have to take the chance of destroying holy mosques and taking out this guy and his fighters. If we don't, we do not have any chance to make this work as I see it.
This doesn't even say anything about Fallujah and other places where rebels literally go unchecked. If we are going to fight a war, we have to fight and sort it out later but what we're doing now is never going to work.
August 18 2004
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HOW WILL YOU CHOOSE THE PRESIDENT? BY LH
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I guess the difference in me and others is how one chooses who to vote for. With me my decision process is to settle on the values that are important and then select the political party that I believe will best promote those values in our country.
And I happen to sincerely believe that on balance the Republican party best represents the values that I hold. So, it isn't just having my mind made up about the individual (although in all candor I have done so this year), but the party whose platform best supports those values.
An example is abortion: virtually on demand; without parental notification in the case of young girls. Another is homosexuality: promoted as a civil rights issue by democrats. Same sex marriage, promoted by liberal judges is another.
I know that you won't have to try hard to find faults with Republicans, but don't you think that they are generally more in line with the values you hold? If so, don't you think you ought to work to get Republicans elected?
August 16 2004
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