Some people are all up in arms about this idea that women should be required to register for selective service when they turn 18, just as boys currently are.
When I first started reading articles about this idea and the opposition to it, an emotion stirred in me that I couldn't quite pinpoint. I spent more time than I should have reading article after article and looking up answers to my questions on the topic.
I won't sugar coat it: I don't think women registering for the selective service is really such a big deal.
A friend of mine said "the suggestion that my girls could be conscripted by the government and placed in harm's way angers me".
To which I can only respond with a raised voice and blood pressure "but it is okay for my boys"?
I don't want my boys to be drafted just as much as I don't want my nieces to be drafted.
The issue to me is not who should register for the selective service, it is that we should never be in a position to require a draft. We as a nation need to be prepared with a powerful, well-trained, well-equipped, volunteer military force. And to do that, service in the military needs to be highly regarded and adequately funded. We can not expect our military to meet the needs of the security and defense of this nation when the government is currently cutting current training budgets, services and retirement benefits. Not only are active units not funded properly to meet their mission, but the benefits that active duty soldiers receive for being willing to put their lives in danger for the rest of the nation are being drastically cut.
I know a little about the cost of war.
No, I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but I've seen in through Matt's. And I feel I can speak with a little bit of authority on the subject that sending any unwilling man or woman into battle is simply inhumane.
You have to have the mental fortitude and passion in your heart and mind in order to endure war. If you were not willing to sign up, then you will not survive.
Why are we bickering about whether or not a woman should be required to sign up, no mention of what jobs she may be required to do, when there are currently bills in the House that are attempting to dramatically cut benefits that were promised to soldiers? When we are sending soldiers to war without adequate equipment or training?
The only reasons why we would ever need to reinstate the draft is if we, as a nation, decide not attract and retain soldiers or if our Commander in Chief decides to engage us in a war we are unprepared to fight. I fear we might be on the road to both of those scenarios.
Throughout history when men were called on, voluntarily or not, to serve this country during a time of war, women raised up and assumed the jobs the men once held, and tried to fill the gap during their absence. I see no reason why all people, men or women, should not step up to the plate in some manner if the situation arises where we need to rally.
I see no scenario where either men or women should be called to take up arms on the front line unless they have the courage, desire, and duty to do so.
When I first started reading articles about this idea and the opposition to it, an emotion stirred in me that I couldn't quite pinpoint. I spent more time than I should have reading article after article and looking up answers to my questions on the topic.
I won't sugar coat it: I don't think women registering for the selective service is really such a big deal.
A friend of mine said "the suggestion that my girls could be conscripted by the government and placed in harm's way angers me".
To which I can only respond with a raised voice and blood pressure "but it is okay for my boys"?
I don't want my boys to be drafted just as much as I don't want my nieces to be drafted.
The issue to me is not who should register for the selective service, it is that we should never be in a position to require a draft. We as a nation need to be prepared with a powerful, well-trained, well-equipped, volunteer military force. And to do that, service in the military needs to be highly regarded and adequately funded. We can not expect our military to meet the needs of the security and defense of this nation when the government is currently cutting current training budgets, services and retirement benefits. Not only are active units not funded properly to meet their mission, but the benefits that active duty soldiers receive for being willing to put their lives in danger for the rest of the nation are being drastically cut.
I know a little about the cost of war.
No, I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but I've seen in through Matt's. And I feel I can speak with a little bit of authority on the subject that sending any unwilling man or woman into battle is simply inhumane.
You have to have the mental fortitude and passion in your heart and mind in order to endure war. If you were not willing to sign up, then you will not survive.
Why are we bickering about whether or not a woman should be required to sign up, no mention of what jobs she may be required to do, when there are currently bills in the House that are attempting to dramatically cut benefits that were promised to soldiers? When we are sending soldiers to war without adequate equipment or training?
The only reasons why we would ever need to reinstate the draft is if we, as a nation, decide not attract and retain soldiers or if our Commander in Chief decides to engage us in a war we are unprepared to fight. I fear we might be on the road to both of those scenarios.
Throughout history when men were called on, voluntarily or not, to serve this country during a time of war, women raised up and assumed the jobs the men once held, and tried to fill the gap during their absence. I see no reason why all people, men or women, should not step up to the plate in some manner if the situation arises where we need to rally.
I see no scenario where either men or women should be called to take up arms on the front line unless they have the courage, desire, and duty to do so.
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