With new laws being enacted in the military and the ever present possibility of conflict, a relatively dormant topic has emerged, the Selective Service and the military draft. As with any emerging topic, differing opinions towards the issue have risen, Economists tend to argue that the agency “captures people who would prefer to be doing something else and forces them to bear the cost of national defense disproportionately by working for a submarket wage”(Applebaum), military officials lean towards the idea that the effectiveness of our all-volunteer force should not be compromised, while lawmakers themselves question the agency believing that maintaining the Selective Service simply makes no sense. Even the average, working class, American
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Discrimination certainly exists today within the Selective Service and draft but, when compared to instances in history, today’s system is immaculate. During the American Civil War, both sides of the fight were lacking manpower to fight at one point or another, this issue gave way to the first instances of a draft in our country’s history. As it is well known. In those times, there was little concern over the public opinion of inequality, whether it be social or gender related, as seen with the treatment of women and slaves. The draft that occurred as a result of this war was no exception to this norm where “A S300 payment could get you out of the military in the Civil War”(Morse). A $300 payment may seem modest until one calculates that $300, in 1873, had the spending power of roughly $6,000 in today’s currency. It was as clear as day, this deferment rule was made public with no concern for the social implications that it may have and, as a result, the lower class was forced to fight the war while the affluent stayed home to wait until its end, safe from danger. This would not be the last instance, though, that opulent would leave the dirty work to the poor and lower class and avoid any danger to themselves or loved ones. Vietnam and World War II also saw our country turn to the draft due to the insufficiency …show more content…
So much, in fact, that scholars like Morse go as far as saying that “equality in the draft would be a mere fantasy.” The instances of inequality that can be detected within our military that are vast, many go over our heads while others remain crystal clear. So clear, as a matter of fact, that lawsuits have been fought to fight them, lawsuits by men against the Selective Service for not requiring women to register for the draft. Indeed, all men between the ages of 18 and 25 are required, by law, to register with the Selective Service while women are exempt on account of gender. It is unbelievable to see that in modern day society, something I as unjust and obvious as this goes largely unnoticed and untampered with. Women have, for years, been denied combat roles in the military and that is precisely the argument held by the Pentagon for giving women immunity from the Selective Service. They reason that because women have not had equal opportunity as men in the military, then they should not be asked to carry the burden that would come in the event of a draft. This was valid argument for the matter, that is, up until as recently as January 2016 when the Pentagon decided to open all combat roles to both men and women including Special Operations forces. As a result the military now concedes that women can perform in combat roles, so the rationale for why they shouldn’t be
Discrimination certainly exists today within the Selective Service and draft but, when compared to instances in history, today’s system is immaculate. During the American Civil War, both sides of the fight were lacking manpower to fight at one point or another, this issue gave way to the first instances of a draft in our country’s history. As it is well known. In those times, there was little concern over the public opinion of inequality, whether it be social or gender related, as seen with the treatment of women and slaves. The draft that occurred as a result of this war was no exception to this norm where “A S300 payment could get you out of the military in the Civil War”(Morse). A $300 payment may seem modest until one calculates that $300, in 1873, had the spending power of roughly $6,000 in today’s currency. It was as clear as day, this deferment rule was made public with no concern for the social implications that it may have and, as a result, the lower class was forced to fight the war while the affluent stayed home to wait until its end, safe from danger. This would not be the last instance, though, that opulent would leave the dirty work to the poor and lower class and avoid any danger to themselves or loved ones. Vietnam and World War II also saw our country turn to the draft due to the insufficiency …show more content…
So much, in fact, that scholars like Morse go as far as saying that “equality in the draft would be a mere fantasy.” The instances of inequality that can be detected within our military that are vast, many go over our heads while others remain crystal clear. So clear, as a matter of fact, that lawsuits have been fought to fight them, lawsuits by men against the Selective Service for not requiring women to register for the draft. Indeed, all men between the ages of 18 and 25 are required, by law, to register with the Selective Service while women are exempt on account of gender. It is unbelievable to see that in modern day society, something I as unjust and obvious as this goes largely unnoticed and untampered with. Women have, for years, been denied combat roles in the military and that is precisely the argument held by the Pentagon for giving women immunity from the Selective Service. They reason that because women have not had equal opportunity as men in the military, then they should not be asked to carry the burden that would come in the event of a draft. This was valid argument for the matter, that is, up until as recently as January 2016 when the Pentagon decided to open all combat roles to both men and women including Special Operations forces. As a result the military now concedes that women can perform in combat roles, so the rationale for why they shouldn’t be