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Eighteen-year-old

there that such conflicts are not worth the

to join the military, while sending the bill to

bones of a single healthy American rifle-

everyone--old and young alike. At the same

Americans have

man than the refusal of a free people in a

time, as a free people we withhold from gov-

no duty to suit

free society to enlist for such duty. One

ernment the extraordinary (and dangerous)

up to patrol a

could be forgiven for believing that much

power to order its citizens to fight and die.

of the limited support for undertaking

That is the proper way for a republic dedi-

new colonial

such new roles, at least in the Pentagon, has

cated to the protection of individual liberty

empire, attempt

more to do with institutional self-preserva-

to defend itself.

tion than with national defense.128

to mend failed

Is military service nevertheless needed to

Even Washington's more serious commit-

teach citizenship values? If those values are

societies, rebuild

ments are no argument for conscription. For

not instilled by family, church, community,

Humpty Dumpty

example, the United States maintains 100,000

and school during childhood and adoles-

soldiers in Europe to defend against phan-

cence, it is unlikely that they will be during a

states, and settle

tom divisions of the Red Army. Britain,

couple of years of forced service in the Army.

ancient quarrels.

France, and Germany together spend more

Decades of peacetime conscription did not

on the military than does Russia. Japan is the

convince Americans that the war in Vietnam

second-ranking global economic power and

involved a vital national interest. The French

faces no serious security threats; South Korea

army found that it was unable to impose

possesses nearly 30 times the GDP of its com-

upon draftees the high command's belief

munist North Korean antagonist. It is hard

that Algeria should be considered part of the

French homeland.131 Nor should we want the

to make a serious argument on the basis of

national interest for the presence of any U.S.

military to forcibly transmit a particular set

troops in those regions--especially a presence

of values. The armed forces are a tool to

provided by a draft.129

defend a free society, not a mechanism to

indoctrinate a free people.

Moral Duties

Separate from the issue of conscription is

peacetime draft registration. Peacetime regis-

The second argument with any resonance

tration has been justified as a form of insur-

is that conscription would instill a sense of

ance, should an emergency arise. However,

the moral duties of citizenship. That con-

through postmobilization registration, Ameri-

tention deserves to be taken seriously because

ca made a smooth transition to conscription in

we all do have important moral obligations

1917 and 1940. With the advances in technol-

to one another.

ogy and transportation that have occurred in

However, those duties are owed to others

succeeding decades, ongoing registration is

in society--not to the state. And they are

obsolete; indeed, given the high mobility of

owed by everyone, not just the 18-year-old

young men, a postmobilization system would

males who would most likely be drafted. It is

be more accurate and thus more fair. Today's

all too convenient for leaders well beyond

proponents of registration have been reduced

draft age to sit in the comfort of their offices

to silly arguments; for example, that registra-

(in Congress, think tanks, or newspapers)

tion will help combat the threat of nuclear

and pontificate about the duty of young peo-

proliferation. Such an argument presumes

ple to serve everyone else. In one discussion

that an outdated list of untrained 18- to 24-

years ago, Gen. William Westmoreland ex-

year-olds is a more fearsome deterrent than

plained that it would be a "privilege" to be

conscripted to serve;130 such a privilege should

thousands of U.S. nuclear warheads.132

be enjoyed first and foremost with those

advocating a draft.

What to Do?

Moreover, a volunteer military places the

defense burden on all citizens. Through the

AVF, society issues a call to patriotic youth

There is no gainsaying that the AVF has

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