They'd serve if they had to (Re: the draft)

[bluestateguy]

If Congress revives the draft, Justin McCutcheon won't be happy.

"I really, really wouldn't want to go," the 18-year-old from Benton said.

Neither would any of the young men interviewed about the possibility of reviving the draft. In a random sample, not one said the draft is a policy they would welcome.

There has not been a draft since the Vietnam War. Yet some believe the government may be forced to bring it back, because troop levels in Iraq cannot be maintained otherwise.

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/808013.shtml

I continue to express concern that many young people will just quietly go off to induction if there is a draft. They'll just go because the government says they have to go. And we'll hear a lot from the conservative Dr. Laura types about the need for young people to "respect authority". There is also a young man at the end of the article who seems to think he could just get a college deferment.

[Hobarticus]

1. Three words: REGISTER TO VOTE.

If Bush wins, there's a low young male voter turnout, and (God forbid) there is a draft, I won't feel a damn bit sorry for young men called up.

Hate to sound like a 'rock the vote' ad, but their future may literally be in their own hands, maybe more so than ever in history. They can't be heard if they don't speak up!

Good to see voter regs are going up and up. But it's just not enough to stand by while old men play with their lives.

[JaySherman]

2. I think they are denial.

It's human nature to be apathetic until something affects you directly. For young people who never lived through a draft (me being one) it's sometimes hard to imagine what such a scenario would really be like. The draft is such a scary, alien prospect that they can't, or don't want to, fathom it. Witness all the folks on this board talking about running off to Canada like it would be an easy thing to do. They may say they'd serve if they had to right now, but let's see what happens when their friends start getting shipped out, only to return in flag-draped coffins, and their number is next to be called. I can guarantee they'll start changing their tune really quick.