How old are YOU Paul. And what have YOU done for US? — Chuck Pelto

Well, since you asked, I’m 65.

Sixty-five would put me near the edge of the window I proposed for the senior draft, but — if I can anticipate a possible objection you might raise — I originally proposed the idea of a draft that targets older Americans four years ago when I was 61, at which time I would have been eligible.

And yes, as you probably surmised, the idea was put forth somewhat tongue-in-cheek and as a thought experiment, but the more I reflect on the core of it, which is that it is in the cold-eyed interest of the American republic to draw on its older, more experienced citizens for military service in time of war, deserves serious consideration

As for what I’ve done (and not done) for the US — I have not served in the armed forces. The closest I’ve come to the sharp end was three weeks in Tel Aviv as a freelance correspondent during the Gulf War in 1991.

I have served in elective office in local government — six years as a City Councilman and more than nine years as a County Commissioner. That certainly doesn’t involve anywhere near the sort of personal sacrifice or gallantry that military service requires, but I think it does qualify as public service.

As for what I actually DID during that time…well…did my damnedest to uphold the Constitution and the laws, provided a couple hundred thousand people with a reasonably competent, non-corrupt, government based on the rule of law, and generally tried to do the greatest good for the greatest number. Mostly, I just made several thousand samll decisions. none of them are very notable in the grand scheme of things, but if somebody doesn’t tend to them, the wheels can come off civilization in a hurry.

But enough about me. How old are you? And what’s your story?

Regards,

Paul Danish

Do you think that if I express myself vehemently HERE, they’ll try to ‘kill’ me?

“Most jobs get done best by those who want to do them.” — MarkD

However, if it were NOT for the ‘draft’, black people would still be slaves amongst US and Hitler would have won.

Something to think about….if you think at all.

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[If you wish to defend a place, you must put your young men in the dirt to do so. -- T.R. Fehrenbach; This Kind of War: A Study in Unpreparedness, © 1963]

“They just want to add another item to their bitch-and-moan list.” — sfcmac

Cease fire. Shift to moonbat with two-antennas. Load APRES.

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[Tanks are for crowd control. APRES are for crowd dispersal. -- A Tankers Rules for Civil Disorders]

“And those who say that it’s not the government’s job to turn people into productive citizens pretty much nailed it, IMHO.” — Kev

….then who?

Parents? The majority of them have abrogated their responsibility to the vaunted American public education system.

The Schools? They’re refusing to do the job. I see a lot of that when I judge high school debate tournaments. And I witness it when the local community hammers the rep from the local university on the high non-grad rate they experience. [Note: Oddly enough, they don't hammer the K-12 reps at the same meeting when the university rep explains the students do not have the skills necessary for college-level courses.]

So who do you propose? The Church?

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[Freedom is not free. Free men are not equal. Equal men are not free. Make decisions and take responsibility for yourself, or the state most surely will do so for you, which is the first step towards fascism.]

I’m simply overcome by the idea of a wonderful Spartan-like society where our children — regardless of their career goals, lives, and abilities — are ripped out of our hands at 18 to be forced by the government to do work or fight.

That’s where I have issues with the proposal as well. As a music professor at a two-year college, that hits me in the backyard with both barrels. First, it would force talented musicians (and others in the arts) to abandon their instrument or voice (which they may have been studying since childhood) for two crucial years in their development, and it would also deplete the majority of the traditional students at our schools; how would we fill the classrooms during the first two years of such a project?

And those who say that it’s not the government’s job to turn people into productive citizens pretty much nailed it, IMHO.