Divisive, But Effectual: Reinstating the Draft Essay -- Military Histo

Ever since World War II, the last war that garnered full American support, the percentage of American citizens enrolling in the U.S. Army has diminished significantly. The U.S. is a major military power in the present world; American soldiers are engaged in many multi-theater positions, consequently dispersing troops over various regions worldwide. As only one in ten citizens has served in the US Army, American knowledge of military conditions is rapidly lessening along with the national harmony that complements such knowledge. Therefore, the comprehension that American security is closely associated with a formidable military never resonated within the greater part of modern American citizens. Although antiwar activists may decry compulsory conscription as unconstitutional, it needs to be reinstated in order to solidify the meaning of being an American citizen, boost the economy by providing jobs, and unify the American people with enhanced homeland security. Generally, reinstating the Constitutional draft would solidify the meaning of being an American citizen. Often, wealthier and more privileged people are able to ask for exemption from serving, which makes representation of soldiers in combat composed of less-privileged citizens. With compulsory conscription, all American citizens, men or women, ages 18-26 are subject to be recruited for the armed forces. In fact, only 4 members of the 107th Congress who voted in favor of the Iraq war had children serving there. Politicians would know how it feels to have loved ones in a war, instead of freely speaking about wartime without experiencing it in any way. 1 (206) Moreover, Americans feel that public support for war in foreign countries is not strong because the soldiers fightin... ...CQ Researcher Outline, January 11, 1991. http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1991011100 (accessed March 19, 2012). "Binding the Nation: National Service in America." U.S. Army War College, 2008. http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/Articles/08winter/grigsby.pdf (accessed March 12, 2012). â€Å"Learn about National Service." Americans for a National Service Act, . nationalserviceact.org (accessed March 19, 2012). Greenblatt, Alan. "Upward Mobility." CQ Researcher, April 29, 2005. http://www.cqpress.com/product/Researcher-Upward-Mobility-v15-16.html (accessed March 14, 2012). Farrell, Brenda S. "Military Personnel: Evaluation Methods Linked to Anticipated Outcomes Needed to Inform Decisions on Army Recruitment Incentives." U.S. Government Accountability Office, September 19, 2008. http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-1037R (accessed March 19, 2012).