Focusing
on Parenting, Education,
Public Involvement ISSUES
When Will Our Sons
Be Drafted? By
Valerie Shaw, M.PR
Like
the emperor's new clothes, the draft of 2005 is the
great unspoken truth that almost everybody sees but
no one wants to talk about. Of course there is going
to be a draft. The emperor is naked; yau'll, even
if no one wants to admit it.
It
doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to analyze the clues.
The military's unpopular stop-loss policy cannot keep
our troops in combat indefinitely. They gotta come
home - one way or another. While aging reservists
are being called to active duty, volunteer recruitment
across the country is on the skids. The Selective
Service boards have all been staffed and are ready
to roll. And, with each bomb and bullet, a new insurgent
is born.
I don't care how many news reports you watch, hear
or read, deployment is up -as are our casualties and
costs - and the numbers of fresh troops are down -
way down. So let's be honest, folks, there is going
to be a draft. And if there was ever anything I wanted
to holla' about, the draft of `05 is it.
I'll
admit that as the single parent of one child, an 18-year-old
son, I am right in the thick of this issue. So there,
I'm biased. With all the love I have for my country,
I love my son more. I shudder to think that at 19
or 20 he could be called on to make the ultimate sacrifice.
[Jeez, let me make the ultimate sacrifice and let
him live his life.]
I
am too emotional to be eloquent, seein' that ol' butt-naked
emperor struttin' his stuff down Main Street, everyone
cheering his elegant garb. I can't stop the war or
the draft. The only thing I can do, in fact, is holla-holla-holla.
One
of my sheroes, Julia Ward Howe, suggested over 150
years ago, in writing and championing the first Mother's
Day Proclamation, that mother's in action could stop
a war. Right about now I am desperate enough to believe
her.
So
if you are as serious as I am about keeping your
kid home - in school, working, helping the family,
whatever - please holla' for your dolla' like his
life depended on it. Holla to your congressperson,
your senators, and yes, the president. Register
to vote, become politically active, read all you
can, join something and know that your voice counts.
Let's
us know what you think...Will there be a draft ? Post
your comments
CivilWEzation Related
Links
Learn
More
At
Anti War Dot Com, http://www.anti-war.com,
you'll find a global perspective on wars. From African
to Asia, from blogs to the world's mainstream press,
this site is a virtual aniti-war library
An
easy to navigate, step-by-step guide to becoming
a Conscientious Objector, presented byPeace Outat http://www.peace-out.com/
is a must bookmark for young people considering
their options.
The
Selective Servicehttp://www.sss.gov/gives
the straight skinny about the rules. [Stay tuned
for changes.]
For
some really good stuff to back up what I'm sayin',
please visit Canadian eco-journalist William Thomas'
site at http://www.willthomas.net/911/Bush/Draft.htm
opening with mainstream newsreel videos and segueing
to an array of some really
eye-opening editorials
New
American Friends Of Service Committee, founded
by the Quakers in 1917, http://www.afsc.org,
is a world leader in resistance movements.
