The draft is a particularly nasty form of slavery, and should be opposed by all decent Americans. I know, there are those who'll say that we owe our country SOMETHING, so why not forced military service?. To that I say: "Who defines what our duties and obligations as citizens are"? AWOL bush? How about "Other Priorities" cheney? Go down the list of those currently in power and count the ones who answered our nation's call in time of need. With a few shining exceptions, the answer is near ZERO. That about sums up what's wrong with the draft. Want to start a war? Fine; lead the way, and I'll be right behind you-maybe.

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Those of you with a fondness for what used to be called history might recall that the draft ended in the Nixon administration, just after the protests and deaths of students at Kent State, in Ohio. Kent State was sort of the last straw for Nixon, as far as protests go. Up until then, he had been a pretty good sport about the protestors: his own daughter, Tricia, was a stubbornly rebellious person, and he never stopped supporting her. But at Kent State, four students got themselves shot and killed by National Guardsmen, and that was going too far.

Nixon felt that the great bulk of the antiwar movement was about compulsory military service for those who could not afford continuing education. Take away the draft, and the kids wouldn't care if we nuked Hanoi. The draft was bad politics. Ending the draft was good politics.

Of course, Geroge W. Bush might not know any of this. I understand he is not a reader. I doubt if many of his advisors would find it wise to quote the wit and wisdom of Richard Nixon.

So maybe we will have a draft again. Wait and see.

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