Conscription, Essay Example

Conscription is generally understood as a mandatory military service by everyone for a particular period of time. Military draft should be optional and not mandatory because compulsory military draft violates the democratic right of the citizens to freedom of choices and opinions. The fact that we celebrate Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King today demonstrates that the civilized world has embraced pacifist ideas as legitimate political ideals.

Opposition to conscription doesn’t mean that one is not patriotic if history is a witness. Gandhi, King, and Mandela all opposed violence yet no one can cast a doubt on their love for their respective countries. Similarly, ninety-eight percent of the men in the Union Army during the Civil War were volunteers and there were more volunteers for the Spanish-American war than could be chosen. It would be strange to enforce conscription in America given the fact that this country has offered refuge to numerous intellectuals from Europe who migrated here in order to escape compulsory military service (Reed).

Conscription may actually weaken the U.S. armed forces rather than strengthening it. The power of any military is also determined by the unity among the soldiers and a conscription may lead to two factions; one those who support compulsory military service and others those who oppose military service. This may lead to lack of cooperation between the two factions. Conscription may also send the message that individuals belong to the state while the founders of the nation clearly implied that individuals have god-given rights that cannot be taken away by the government and one of these rights is freedom of choice. Even U.S. President echoed the concern that conscription assumes individuals belong to the state (Paul, Ron).

Another argument against conscription is that it may lower the quality of U.S. armed forces. Conscription may result in one year or two year compulsory military service but now it takes just six months to give basic training and another few months are required for specialized training (Kaplan). If the military conflicts of the last few decades have taught us anything, we need more skilled armed force and not less. The future conflicts will only get more complex because now wars do not only happen against sovereign countries but also organized, borderless, and ruthless terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda.

Conscription is in essence nothing less than slavery because it forces individuals to do what they may not want to do. In addition, conscription also puts a financial burden on the economy because the huge cost to train draftees come from the taxpayers’ money and could be utilized more effectively on other challenges such as education. Another case against conscription is that the need for manpower will only decline over time (Becker) as we have already seen in Afghanistan. Drones are now being used in place of pilot-driven bomber jets.

Thus, conscription is not only unconstitutional but also ineffective. It results in inefficient allocation of scarce resources, weakens the cohesion in the armed forces, and reduces the skill level of an average military soldier.

References

Becker, Gary S. The Case Against the Draft. 19 June 2007. 22 February 2012 <http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoover-digest/article/6105>.

Kaplan, Fred. The False Promises of a Draft. 23 June 2004. 22 February 2012 <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2004/06/the_false_promises_of_a_draft.single.html#pagebreak_anchor_2>.

Paul, Ron. Against Military Conscription. 23 March 2002. 22 February 2012 <http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul24.html>.

Reed, John. Why I Am Against Conscription. 21 April 1917. 22 February 2012 <http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/parties/spusa/1917/0421-reed-openletter.pdf>.