Besides the legal and moral arguments, there is a point of logic that needs mentioning. Supporting the reinstatement of the draft with the hope and the expectation that as more children become victims of forced servitude and war, people will become outraged and demand that something be done about the crime of war is like supporting rape with the hope and the expectation that when more women become rape victims, people will become outraged and demand that something be done about the crime of violence against women. Supporting increasing pain and suffering in order to end pain and suffering, supporting injustice to end injustice, is pragmatically and morally incoherent. Even were it the case, and I am not at all certain that it is, that reinstituting the draft would create such a groundswell of opposition so as to force an end to the wars and occupation, the draft is still wrong. A moral end does not justify immoral means.
Reinstituting the draft is a means whereby the government may enslave our children and provides the cannon fodder with which to continue the atrocity of illegal and immoral war and occupation. Even Ronald Reagan agreed: "... conscription is a form of slavery, a horrible and costly exception to America's founding principle. It is morally repugnant to the ideals of a free society. Without a draft, unpopular wars are very difficult to fight. The ability to use conscription actually encourages politicians to wage even more wars - the massive resources are a temptation that is hard for the war-lover to resist."
Law, morality and reason demand, therefore, not that we contribute to the slaughter and increase the human cost in physical and moral pain by reinstating the draft, but rather, that we continue to actively oppose war and militarism. To end apathy and indifference, we must educate the public about the realities of war and make clear its detrimental impact upon our economy, our culture, and our moral character as a people and as a nation. We must counter recruitment lies and propaganda, find viable employment alternatives to military service so as to end the poverty draft, and ensure that conscription never becomes a reality. We must join together once again, take to the streets, raise our voices in unison, and send a message to our political leaders in no uncertain terms, "No more war, not in our name, not with our children. Hell no, we won't go ... again!"
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