I could not wait to be drafted in WWII. I enlisted in the Navy but they would not take a guy with glasses.  I got even with the Navy; I enlisted in the Army that took me quick as a wink.  I served with a lot of draftees who grumbled and whined a lot because they wouldn’t have enlisted and had to be dragged by their neighbors because their numbers came up.  They happened to be good soldiers because they were being fired on and fired right back up – and our side won.

Mr. Rangel cited some very good reasons – mostly equality of opportunity to serve one’s country. Instead the poor, minorities and less fortunate have become the standard bearers of the good Old U.S. of A.  He pointed out the inequities of none of the children of Congressmen or Senators and the President and Vice President ever having enlisted. Critics of Mr. Rangel point out that the children of the fortunate will still be able to get deferments and escape serving their country in this way.

Then there is the argument that there are other areas of service than shooting guns. Certainly there are programs which will eat up time of youths who would have gone overseas in other countries to fight in questionable wars.

But, there are a great many youths who would love to fight – for that is the nature of the young.  Why not harness that need for activity and form up mercenary battalions of those who will work - not for citizenship but for money and fight for our side?  There must be many who would do so if our recruiters would leave the malls and schools in the U.S. and go over to France, African and Asian nations and buy the services of those needing or wanting to fight.

Of course, you will say, there were the Hessians who were bought and sold to come to the Colonies to fight the wars of Imperial England.  Many of those were stranded here and became the ancestors of Americans today.  But they fought for pay and that is as at least as honorable as finding someone else to stand in for you or someone who was deferred because of “connections”.

Mr. Rangel is right.  A draft would be more democratic.  But he is just playing with us. He is against the war and this is his way of forcing people to think about how immoral it is to be fighting against Iraqis and their allies to force them to become democratic just like us. I am equally against the war.  If there were no war there would be no need for a draft or to find mercenaries willing to die for pay.

I think the draft is an equal opportunity to die. Professional armies are wiped out, mangled and lose when they are not given proper back-up and support. Young people encouraged to think joining up is patriotic die for you and me.