In the event of a military draft, what would you do?

i understand what your saying. but i hope one day (maybe a long long time from now) whatever evil makes men think they have to fight and kill for whatever reason that it comes from, or from whatever evil forces someones hand, i hope that fades away and wont be needed any longer.

 

This statement strikes me as decidedly odd.

 

My sincerest prayer too.

 

Is it becaues you too are confusing duty with politics?

I'm about as passive as they come in life. How I feel about something has nothing to do with my sense of duty.

 

I'm not sure I understand you. You seem to be saying (in the statement I alluded to earlier) that you were sorry you could not serve, but agreed that the war was "not smart". I guess you could conclude that this is confusing duty and politics, but I'd wager it more my "duty" to protest/stop a "not smart" war than to serve blindly.

I'll step away from this thread as this ain't the D&D.

 

Probably one of your worst posts here Deckard -- you are wrong on this issue.

 

I'm 32 and too old to be drafted.

That said, if I did get drafted, I guess I would serve. Don't really have a choice. I would just hope that is was a war that I felt we should be in

 

I would immediately go and enlist in the Air Force before they had the chance to decide for me. Though I wouldn't mind fighting, I just prefer the AF over Army.

 

KingCheetah with a serious reply!

I didn't know it was possible.

 

Please keep the Hangout stupid.

Here is my contribution:

Spoiler

Spoiler

I'll bet you thought this was going to be Arthur laughing again, didn't you...

 

Deck's right. A draft is one of those things that takes absolutely no thought if you're responding to a hypothetical. "Sure, I'd serve."

If it's real, your own mortality and the hopes you have for your life and your loved ones and your fears all come in to immediate play and the question becomes infinitely more complicated.

I see this at a lesser level all the time with prescribed fire. We'll go meet with the neighbors and explain what we're doing... clearing out the underbrush, removing the fuel loads, preventing a summer lightning strike from reaching the treetops and crowning out. They all can understand the reasons why we'd want to burn and offer support. However, as soon as we put fire on the ground or they smell smoke, they freak out... it's no longer a hypothetical and now they fall prey to their fears... "the fire will escape and my house will burn down and my kids will die."

It's one thing to talk about a draft. It's quite another to live through it and realize that in a few weeks you could really be killing people... or be in a wheelchair the rest of your life... or be dead.

When I was a kid, we'd have the discussions. In the early grades, all the boys (including me) not only said they'd go, they said it with bravado. As we got a little older and began to understand what being drafted really meant... and as some of us had to deal with dead brothers and cousins (RIP Doug) and uncles, we discussed it less and less. When the draft ended, it was a like a huge weight was lifted from myself, my family, and our community.

By 5th grade, I had made up my mind that I was not going to Vietnam. If it meant Canada or having friends and relatives pull strings to ensure I never went to SE Asia, that was fine by me. Thankfully, the draft was shut down about that time and the war a little bit later. Worrying about military service should not be part of a pre-teen's existence, but it was for me... and it was definitely a major worry for Mom.

I don't want my kids to experience the same thing, I don't want to turn into my Mom, and I don't want that burden on our society.

 

HAHA Danm right I would serve! I tried to unlist when I turned 18. Wouldunt lemme in cause of my hearing. Gene got in but he got hurt and now a wino lol

 

I'm missing half of my trigger finger, so I don't think they could draft me. Besides I'm 30 with a bad back so I would do no good.

 

That is funny.

 

I wonder if that's the only reason....

 

I'm kinda young, so I'm interested in hearing the methods that folks used to dodge the draft (I like history). I know about bailing to Canada, or having a connected daddy. What else?

 

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to KingCheetah again.

 

That was a walk off - just felt good coming off the bat -- thought you would get a kick out of it.