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

i would be forced to kill people

and i would try to do it with a smile on my face.

 

I've played enough Counter-Strike and Halo to know I'd be an efficient sniper.

 

Not to compare my situation to that of those killed or wounded physically and/or mentally, but it was hell coming home after essentially being told I wasn't good enough to volunteer to go get shot at. That I was somehow "broken." No one actually said that to me, but it's sure as hell how I felt.

Thank you for that.

 

I'd do anything but fight. If I was asked to fight I'd say no and take the consequences.

 

i have flat feet.

BWAHAHAHA.

i'm fast though, but they don't need to know.

 

I would do a lot of soul searching on whether it'd be a war I'd have to fight.

If it's a cooked up invasion, then I'd probably go elsewhere than dying for a cause fat, rich and old men started but won't lift a gun to finish.

 

I'd do my very best to avoid getting drafted. And if I do end getting drafted, I'd do my very best to avoid being a foot soldier. Nothing on the front lines. I'll just play a "support" role.

I won't even pretend to be noble or patriotic or whatever. I just want to make sure I'm not in danger of dying.

As for ways to get out of it, I have plenty of relatives in China and can easily spend the rest of my life here. Although if it's US vs China in the war... I'd be pretty damn screwed.

 

Nations don't really exist. It's a figment of people's imaginations. I read a quote from someone's signature on this board by Hakeem Olajuwon where he said something about borders not being real, just arbitrarily imagined lines. Nationalism is just a tool created and used by government leaders to encourage their citizens to do what they are told. Nationalism is imaginary- it's not real. Patriotism is imaginary. Since I don't even believe in nationalism, I don't see how I could pick up arms against a stranger to kill for another stranger.

 

You can say that. But by using similar logic, you can say that family doesn't exist either. Still, there is something (e.g. national history, experience, culture, etc) that is shared among people in a nation that causes them to look out for each other. Of course, the mad men at the top can exploit these feeling to further their ego, e.g. GWB

 

Draft will never happen military don't want it.

 

Great post Deckard, Much respect man.




If I was drafted, I would not go. I wish that I could believe in my government, and my country, and feel true patriotism, but I just don't. I would die for many things, but I feel far too disconnected with my people and my country to put my life on the line for a supposed "ideal" or "belief".

 

I would demand they send themselves and theirs over
if they won't . . i won't

Rocket River
Leaders lead from the front

 

BTW
If *the enemy* comes marching up on Galveston toward houston
I don't think a Draft will be necessary
cause . . I'd get a gun . . and be ready.

Rocket River
Defending this country . . . and going to war are not necessarily the same thing.

 

I would volunteer, as long as I was guaranteed a spot on the Jedi Council.

 

Either you are a comedic genius for writing this post or a complete idiot. I am hoping for the former. Whatever Rhadamanthus said with his Smedley Butler quote owns this thread, FWIW, that guy was one of the top 100 most important people to ever live.

 

if someone could give me a decent argument for the US going to war in the past 40 years I might be willing to listen. Otherwise I think anyone who enlists or is willing to participate in a draft is an idiot who is fueling the fires of injustice. If you comply you are nothing but a slave of the military industrial complex. Have at it.

 

Choose your words carefully. We're watching you.

 

Draft Lottery #33 in 1971

I tell you guys you won't really know until you are faced with it and it totally depends on the context of the times. I grew up a gungho kid. I always figured I'd be a soldier of some kind. But after 5 years of Viet Nam when my number came up, I was not going, to the point of moving to Canada permanently.

Luckily for me, during my freshman year I spent 3 or 4 days in the University clinic with a respiratory reaction. Unbeknown to me the University doctor wrote the draft board and told them I had asthma. I whiffed my physical my by a week by accident, had to be reprocessed and them Congress ended the draft.

So I got out of it, but, I wasn't going. The military effort at the time just seemed like a stupid meatgrinder. If a war is worth fighting, it's worth winning and that means taking the other guy's capitol, freeing their people and installing a real democracy.

 

Someone asked, "if there were a draft, what would you do?". I, we simply stated, we'd go and I gave a reason. Thats all we did, answered a question.

And just because you disagree with us, you want to pull this crap (your response)?

But since you asked, I'll tell you. And if I got to talk to the Deckard of the sixties, I will, but I truly hope I'm talking to the Deckard in the 21 century.

As a teenager on Okinawa, while my dad was in Vietnam, I worked for the government. It was their way of keeping us kids off the streets during the summer. I saw and met soldiers barely older than me come through before heading off to Vietnam. Let me repeat, BARELY older than me.

And the first god damn thing I did when I finally got stateside and finished my last year of school was to join the Army. I wanted to fight for this country, especially so those soldiers barely older than me didn't fight alone, didn't die alone.

But, alas, America got smart and ended that mess before I could get my papers.

So Deck, I did join and still did my duty proudly without going to Vietnam. But for today, they are not going to take this old fart.

And you know what? After 9/11 they put a lot of the retiree's on standby with roles to fill if something huge happened. They got my dad. Although dad wouldn't re-up, after spending 21 years in the service and Vietnam, he STILL served his country when asked, without question, and with a sense of pride. You should have seen his face when talking about serving his country again.

Short story? In the psyche man duty has NOTHING to do with politics, NOTHING. You want politics? Change the freaking laws, but don't crap on soldiers while you're doing it, or while they're fighting.

Don't crap on us who have a sense of duty.

And a last thing, you don't know us that well to call our answers "bull****". Putting a crazy trade idea together and posting it could be bull****. Expressing what one would do in a life or death situation is NEVER bull****.

(edit) After posting and rereading, I can't believe I fell for Deck's coments. I had my share of this argument 40 years ago and I'm having it again...good grief.

 

As sad as it is and as much of a coward it makes me seem, I would not be able to go. My family means the world to me and without them in my life, I would go insane. I would not be able to leave my wife especially with a kid on the way. NO WAY. This whole thread makes me nervous.

The people that said they would go, I guess your more of a man than me. Credit to you and a major thanks to the ones already having the courage to do such a thing.