At risk of having everyone hate me again, I present an opposing view on the draft.

Currently our army (enlisted men, excluding officers) consists overwhelmingly of poor people. It is a last resort for too many kids with few prospects (see some of my other journals about prisons and soldiers [inlink]userName=terry,blogID=62[/inlink] & [inlink]userName=terry,blogID=64[/inlink]). The reason for this is that we have what is called a "professional army" composed of paid soldiers whose main occupation is war (call it "defense" or "peacekeeping" if you like). What we used to have was a "volunteer army," meaning that our citizens were our army when needed (hence our 2nd amendment rights to carry arms: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.). The draft is an extension on this volunteer army system.

There are many differences between the two types of armies. Economically speaking, a huge standing army (ie: our current system) must be constantly paid, fed, housed, etc. With a draft in place, you would of course keep a much smaller army, and only pay a larger force when necessary. I think a part of the reason for our skyrocketing defense budgets since Vietnam has a lot to do with maintaining a gigantic army constantly. Politically, it is much harder to justify war if you don't have professional soldiers. If the kids going to war aren't just from the farms and the ghettos, but from right next door-suburbia, you better have good reasons. How much more antiwar sentiment can you garner if everyone has to worry about themselves or their loved ones being drafted? I especially like that there are very tough requirements for waivers in the new bill which would hopefully prevent stooges like our current leader from ditching his duty. Another point I always think of is if it ever got down to the army being used for civil purposes (as was very close in Miami this summer at the FTAA protests) I would much rather see a draftee who still remembered being a civilian than a hardened professional killer.

Basically the way it works now is hugely expensive, allows America to have a gigantic army that can be repositioned as easily as the pieces on a Risk board, disproportionately utilizes lower class labor, breeds sociopathic killers, must not be strenuously justified, and allows slackers like Dubya off the hook. So while I personally have no desire to be drafted, I don't know that the idea should be so off-handedly dismissed. I just think of the next war that Dubya thinks up, in Lybia or Iran or wherever, and imagine the draft cards going around, and the hundreds of thousands who then could stand up in solidarity, saying we will not fight for your greedy wars. The 82nd Airborn is never going to do that.

Slithering tires bring friends to the goal
Squelching through slime
Racing through time
Fast as you can but watch out for the fall
White wonder abounds
Breath panting in rounds
To the river of course though hidden beneath
Coruscating ice floe
Wary feet tread slow
Across and over rushing depths below
Round the next bend
Like pure heavensend
Glistening water frozen while falling
Boys take it in
Both sight and sin
Winter relaxes and they enjoy the melt

She was invading my thoughts this morning as I lie semiconscious after sleep. I rode the Autobus and remembered what it was like to travel through a downtown that had no cars. Of course we abused the system half the time, which made it more dangerous. Danger is not always a bad thing though. One time I kotzte on the bus, I don't think the Führer noticed though. One time I ran away from my friends for no apparent reason and then returned home later to lock myself in the bathroom where I was found lying at the bottom of the shower. I used to wander a lot. About the town and surrounding countryside. Our town was small, you needed only to go a halfmile in the right direction to be away. I found a glen. It became my private getaway spot. I made a hollow in the ground which I could disguise by pulling the long grass over. I made an Indian. He was natural. Except for his weapon. He had a rock for a brain, but was imbued with my lifeforce. He was precognizant. Or maybe connected with another faraway life force. He reacted once or twice. He remains in Deutschland (so far as I know). I wonder if he's still connected or if it fades with time. I hope he's not too dusty. Those were free and carefree (and I must admit workfree) days. Leisure up the kazoo. I used to run and bike. I had a ridiculous headpiece for earphones. Everyone laughed at me (mostly to themselves). It was fun being foreign. Exotic even. Maybe not quite that far. Until I opened my mouth you couldn't really tell. There was a See. You went there, schwimmen, sonne-baden. The whole time nackt wie ein Baby. I must stop, the reminiscing is too much for me. Makes me miss what's faraway right now. Spring will help. It always does.

we went for a walk. The weather is achangin. Who knows how long for. Enjoy it while we can, sall we can do. Friends come over after crazy enticers, making us do the crazy too, not soo crazy though. Ima gonna have fun and take a minute to take in some good old fashioned sun. Didn't mean to sound like Sheryl Crow. Sorry for that. Tshcüssi.

I'm reading Understanding Power: The Indispensible Chomsky. Basically a primer and compilation of the ideas and essays of Noam Chomsky. From the Sandinistas to Israel to thoughts on sports and socialism it spans a lifetime of hardcore political thinking. He's so extreme and so cool and so right. My favorite excerpt so far: a woman asks Noam if he's seen a Barbara Walters special about the organ trade in Nicaragua, Noam repiles, "Well, by definition, no." Snooty and self-righteous, maybe, but something that I myself might say indeed. It's a good thing to read because it kind of sums up a lot of his ideas without getting too tedious. I tried to read Manafacturing Consent, but only got about halfway through; it's simply too boring, focusing on specific case-examples of how our media fits into a so-called "propaganda model." I totally agree with the explanation and see it everyday I log onto google news, but I couldn't sit through the boring statistics. Maybe I'll finish it yet. I kinda want the synopsis though. And that's exactly why this book is great, it gives the basic terms and doesn't go into specific detail (though there're copious footnotes provided on a separate internet site for those who wish these details).

We come now to my problem. I believe almost 100% of what dear Noam is saying, but find my acceptance a bit suspect. Am I not falling into Noam's propaganda model? I simply can't make myself check his facts. He's a super-genius who's spent 50 years gathering his data, how could I (even if I had the willpower and stamina) test his data? I somehow don't think I'm being lied to though. It all makes too much sense, it fits into the exact mould that the Bush administration is now occupying. I see/hear/read the propaganda everyday. It's becoming more and more obvious. I can't decide if I've become attuned or if our current administration is so egoistic that it doesn't even bother to try very hard. A perfect example is our vice-president. We seem to have no problem that his (former?) company is being formally investigated by the DOJ for overcharging the government (ie: you and me sorry taxpayers) and being granted multi-million dollar Iraq reconstruction contracts at the same time. Does no one see how ridiculous this is? Does no one see that this should be at least questioned? This example and many others lead me to trust what Chomsky says. Why shouldn't I, when everything in my own experience agrees so completely?

Chomsky at one point in the book is asked (it's a series of lectures/Q&As) if he votes. He replies that he votes if he thinks it will make a difference one way or the other. And, especially because it's somewhat of a hot-topic on the site now) I sorta agree with him. In our current example, we have Bush vs. a democrat (most likely Kerry, or Edwards, or some combination). And while I want Bush gone with heart and soul, it is very disheartening to have no "real" candidate to vote for. The quotations around real mean that there are candidates who I feel share many of my concerns and priorites: Kucinich, Mosley-Braun, Nader. They have all been so marginalized by our system and by the media as to be virtually non-existant. That is so fucking wrong. This is supposed to be a democracy. Yet every candidate who has even an inkling of my views is so intentionally marginalized that they fall right off the politcal map. And, you tell me I should vote for the lesser-of-two-evils. I don't want any evil though. A little evil? A big evil? WTF, mates? We're caught in a cycle of hardcore Republican (Reagan/Bush) to centrist "Democrat" (Clinton) to hardercore Republican (Bush) to centrister "Democrat" (Kerry/Edwards), I don't see it ending anywhere besides Facism. These are not real choices. These are margarine or butter when I want olive oil. I guess I want Revolution. I don't believe in the system. I don't believe in capitalist democracy, it's an oxymoron. As long as real power lies in the hands o
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rporations instead of politicians there can be no meaningful change (by and large we don't even debate possible alternatives). So, I don't believe in change through the system, and challenge anyone to find a single instance of meaningful substantive change that has come only through the system. So, yes, maybe I'll vote, but I won't like it and won't be satisfied. I'll probably vote for Nader and you can all come burn my house down when fucking Kerry doesn't win. Nananana-boo-boo.