This article interested me for obvious reasons. Upon reading the title, I was immediately curious as to what stance the author would take on such a controversial subject. After U.S. History last year, and reading The Things They Carried this year, I had some prior knowledge about the draft and I knew the negative connotation it had, especially for those drafted. This article is talking about how in the wake of demands for cuts in the Defense Departement's budget, most Congress members desire to keep the Departement's budget where it is. The main reason: if the budget is cut and there is a need for soldiers in the field in the future, Congress will have to bring the draft back. It's a chilling idea, young men and women forced into uniform and shipped off to unfamiliar lands to fight and die for America. It's easy to see why Congress would be hesitant to sign off on this, and I was too at first. But the author of this article was talking about a draft not only for the army but for jobs closer to home too, like working in schools and with hospice patients. He thinks that a draft for work around the United States would be just as beneficial to our American pride as an army draft would be.
The Author clearly thinks that things aren't running smoothly in the U.S. right now. With the economy failing and protests like Occupy Wall Street going on, I can't say I disagree. But is turning to a draft really the best way to fix America's problems? This author convinced me. He used logos to make it seem very sensible to pose a draft that helps young people experiance all fields they otherwise wouldn't, it could lead to people being happier in their work and help get at-risk youth off the streets and into making positive contributions to society. At the beginning he made it seem like he was using pathos to make his readers feel anger towards the thought of a draft and having an army made of "the unwilling." This was and still is how I feel towards a militaristic draft. But after he poses the idea of other types of drafts, the reader realizes the extensive possibilities a draft could have.
"Bring Back the Draft-- but with a twist"
http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/11/the-draft-with-a-twist.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpinionLa+%28L.A.+Times+-+Opinion+Blog%29
Anything that forces people to serve a government they don't want to is wrong in my opinion. Whether it's to go and die in a war or do helpful work, forcing someone to do something will lead to trouble.
ReplyDeleteGood criticism of the article, I like how the author included other types of drafts aside from a military one
ReplyDeleteAren't there already plenty of jobless people who would work pretty much anywhere? I don't really see the need for a draft right now.
ReplyDeletebut think about situations like our school. we have a severe lack of teachers in some fields. if we had a draft for something like this, the teacher envi sci had for a day wouldn't've had the option of quitting for the year, and the kids in her class would be learning science and not getting A+ for not doing work.
ReplyDeleteYeah and if you forced the teacher into a job they hated everyday might just turn into a study. It could have the same effect as if I was drafted into working at a daycare. Think about that.
ReplyDeleteWell there would have to be standards set. When men were drafted into the military they weren't allowed to sit around all day and become fat slobs cause they didn't want to be there. They had superiors to make sure they were doing work, and later they got compensated for it. Besides, to prevent this from happening they could take into consideration someones preferences. I mean, obviously they aren't going to throw someone who gets sick at the sight of blood into a nursing job or something. They would have to make the people's preferences into consideration as well.
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