Arguments for the draft

[seemunkee]

My daughter is doing a research project at school and she picked the draft as her subject. Part of the project is to come up with arguments for the opposing view point and she(and I) are finding it difficult.
1. Way to recruit large numbers of people in times of crisis
2. Obligation to country

Any thoughts?

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. What country? It's been sold. Occupants don't live there anymore.

[StopTheMorans]

2. rich people can die for their own fucking wars instead of making the poor

people do it.

[Dhalgren]

3. Sharing the obligation to serve.

A real military/public service draft would insure that ALL citizens of the country shared in its defense and in service to the nation/society.

[katinmn]

10. except that the rich and the wily seem to get a lot of deferments

see Bush Administration

[Guaranteed]

4. There are lots. There are actually quite a few pretty convincing

ones, too, that my step-father, who was a Marine in Vietnam, used to discuss with me.

The two main ones- a draft brings your typical middle-class family into a war. This helps to keep needless wars from happening.

But there's also a very subtle reason to have a draft. Without a draft, many of those in the military are using it as a career. In a war, these types aren't quite as likely to want to get a war over and finished as someone who has been drafted. My step-father noticed this in Vietnam- the drafted folks were the really no-nonsense types. They weren't out to get killed, or shoot people for fun. They just wanted to get it all over with and DONE, so they could go home.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Another One Is. . .

. . .it delays the entry of about 400,000 people per year into the job market. These people don't need jobs for the next 3 years or so, which gives about a 3*3, or 9 year period for the employment market to equilibrate. This tends to have an upward pressure effect on real wages. It did in the whole post-WWII period.
The Professor

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Thinning The Herd?

The Professor

[johnnie]

6. Maybe

To bring in enough to replace the ones already serving. Shorter terms. You can probably come up with a better way of putting that.

[underpants]

8. It's St.Patrick's DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ucmike]

9. more parking spots at the community college?

actually, i've thought for awhile that mandatory military service (like isreal and some of the nordic countries) can act as the great equalizer allowing people from disconnected social groups to interact and to give most everyone in the country a common bond regardless of their social standing or demographic.
a draft is a bit extreme in that regard, but sorta similar.

[Guaranteed]

11. ABSOLUTELY. That's huge.

It brings people from all different walks of life together. Extremely important.