On the War and the Draft

I posted a few brief comments on the messageboard of an antiwar group, "Anti-War," on thefacebook.com, and I thought I might repost my (controversial) thoughts on the draft here:

"I should also add: I agree with Bryan's comment about sacrifice. The reason this war continues is because the American people as a whole have not been asked to sacrifice anything, while our soldiers -- the same age, more or less, as all of us posting -- have been asked to make the ultimate sacrifice. But there's no true antiwar movement because there's no draft. It's strange to hear this from a leftist (democratic socialist, to be exact), but I am strongly in favor of the draft. Because serving one's country -- by which I mean the American people in the broadest sense possible -- is honorable and important, and because if there was a draft our government would be much more cautious before engaging in costly wars. A draft would mean my parents would be out in the streets protesting right now. But without it, this war touches only military families, of which, as the army is increasingly professionalized everyday, there are fewer and fewer. The burden is borne unequally, engendering apathy among the people and therefore giving the government a free hand to rush into wars rather than first engaging in a lengthy process of democratic debate concerning their necessity, purpose, and execution. Countries with citizen's armies -- rather than professional armies -- are simply more cautious when it comes to entering foreign wars."

Any readers out there with an interesting point of view or critique, send me your thoughts!