Every day I see cars with bumper stickers saying “Proud to be an American”. I don’t get that. Unbelievably lucky, yes. Privileged, yes. But proud? I am not sure the pride is earned. In fact, I am pretty sure it is not. We are indeed privileged, lucky and largely undeserving of the largesse of the nation heaped around us. The hard work of defending that privilege falls at the moment on the all-volunteer US Armed Forces. The beneficiaries think on it as little as possible, except when they stop for gas at the Quickie Mart, and pick up a pack of Marlboros and a yellow ribbon magnet to slap on their gas guzzler on the way out. (“Aren’t these gas prices a bitch?”)
Meanwhile, the volunteers are doing second and third tours, and spending shorter and shorter times at home, fighting as proxies in a medieval conflict with no end in sight. Where do these heroes come from? Well not, apparently, from the families of congressmen. Not from the families of our AWOL President, draft-dodger Vice President or Cabinet. Not from the hallowed halls of the Ivy League. Nor from the scions of our oil oligarchy. No sense of noblesse oblige exists in their world anymore. No, these are the sons and daughters of the working class and underclass. They feel the weight of privilege. They bear it. They don't get the benefit, but they bear the burden. Our generals are now saying we need more troops to accomplish the mission. And they may be right, if the mission is indeed worth doing, or even doable. Mr. Rangel of New York has called for a return of the draft, a politically interesting notion. Interesting, as in suicidal. Mr. and Mrs. J.Q. Public are not likely to react warmly to a proposal to snatch J.Q., Jr. from his nest and send him off to fight for low oil prices. Less warm will be the response of the millionaires who run the country. But he has a point. Applied evenly and fairly, without "college exemptions" for smart white boys only, a draft would spread the burden across the entire population, and take part of it off the few who bear it presently. But could it fly? Well perhaps it could, if it were part of a general national service requirement for all Americans. Many European countries have had this requirement for generations. It is not so wild a notion.
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription ) Suppose every young man and woman in America had to put 18 months into national service. Suppose there were a variety of choices, from military service, to Peace Corps, to Civilian Conservation Corps, to whatever creative use all that energy could be put? Then every citizen who could serve would serve, and every citizen would have earned the right to be proud to be American. They would at very least have paid back a little of the debt they owe now, but never acknowledge. Mr. Rangel did his bit in the US Army, from 1948-52. He knows, at least, what it means to serve. And so when he speaks, he is not speaking from the lofty position of a politician who had avoided his duty when his time came. Can our current leaders say the same? Surely, given a choice, many young people would choose military service as an honorable way to discharge their debt. The real objections to an army of conscriptees being inferior to a volunteer army would thus be blunted. The investment of the entire country in the mission would temper our desire to fight as a first response. The investment in infrastructure by the other projects undertaken would benefit everyone at home, and make us a better country, and a better people. And finally, the shared experience of service would be a rite of passage, a bond, a common experience which would broaden our appreciation for each other and what we can do together. So maybe he is not crazy. Maybe we can and should consider the big picture, and join together in the fight. We have a long way to go before we can all be proud.
