Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sure. Any government worthy of having people fight on its behalf would be too flooded with volunteers to worry about a draft. If there aren't enough volunteers, that's a strong signal that perhaps the war either doesn't need to be fought, or the government itself is no longer legitimate.
I suppose the answer would be yes, because if it is a way with our moral justification solidified, few would dodge the draft. However, if the war made no sense, then we would see large numbers of draft dodgers.
Yes. We all have the ability to judge right and wrong for ourselves. If I judge a war to not be worthy of support, it would be morally repugnant for me to participate in spite of that knowledge. Moreover, I consider a system where we are property of a government and can be sent to war against our will as a form of slavery. That's essentially what conscription is, forced labor, slavery by another name.
WWII was a popular war AND there was a draft. Was a draft even necessary? (Probably should be a separate question for the History forum.)
However, back then the media and the government may have had more control over popular opinion. On the other hand, WWII seemed to have been more of a black and white war with "real" bad guys.
IMHO, depends on the war. Dodging the draft during WWII when the nation has been attacked and is seriously threatened. NO. But Vietnam, which was a war going nowhere, just killing and no end in sight, I see no problem. Different people used different methods. If it was legal, I have no problem. What did they do? National Guard, student deferment, contentious objector. I don't even have a problem with those who emigrated to Canada. It was a crazy war run by a crazy president that we should have gotten out of, as JFK wanted.
I agree with the feelings so far that you can't compare WWII to the Vietnam war or even what is going on today in the mid East. That was a war where we knew who the bad guys were and why we were fighting them. The Vietnam war and this latest fiasco seem more of a political exercise than a real war. I say that because in a war the goal is to win and in the latter two examples the goal seems to be to keep a lid on things.
I feel we had no business in Vietnam nor in this new one. We have lost thousands and thousands of good young men and women fighting for people who don't even like us at all. That war in the mid East will never be won, they have been fighting it in one form or another forever, and will continue to do so.
That in no way takes away from the sacrifices our military and their families have made in the name of freedom.
I agree with the feelings so far that you can't compare WWII to the Vietnam war or even what is going on today in the mid East. That was a war where we knew who the bad guys were and why we were fighting them. The Vietnam war and this latest fiasco seem more of a political exercise than a real war. I say that because in a war the goal is to win and in the latter two examples the goal seems to be to keep a lid on things.
I feel we had no business in Vietnam nor in this new one. We have lost thousands and thousands of good young men and women fighting for people who don't even like us at all. That war in the mid East will never be won, they have been fighting it in one form or another forever, and will continue to do so.
That in no way takes away from the sacrifices our military and their families have made in the name of freedom.
Don
I agree with this poster 100%.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
