The Draft Bill

The author of “Why We Need Universal Service” is trying to persuade people that compulsory service in our country should be re-instated.  The author includes different arguments from his point of view but does not explain any of the other side’s opinions.  However, the author is credible because the arguments seem capable of convincing others that his idea has a solid foundation.  The author’s intended audience is people who are active in politics and will advocate their representatives in government to support the author’s reintroduction of the Universal National Service Act, commonly called the draft bill.

One of the author’s arguments is that only a small percentage of the U.S. population, about one percent, currently serves and this low number means that many enlisted soldiers must be deployed multiple times which can lead to additional problems.  This is evidenced in that twenty-five percent of active duty personnel in our military have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.  Also, the current suicide rate in the Army’s personnel is significantly higher than civilian rate and for the Marine Corps it is even higher. 

Another point the author makes is that universal service doesn’t necessarily mean that people will have to serve in the armed forces, but claims that they could serve in civilian service.  This would include places such as schools, hospitals, or airports.  This might prompt more people to support the idea of a universal service.  The author also claims that reintroducing the draft will end our wars more quickly and that young people will gain discipline for honorably serving our country.

I agree with the author that wars need to be ended as quickly as possible and that too many American soldiers have died in this “war that should not have been in the first place”, but I don’t think that compulsory service is the way to go about it.  I think that if they are worried about low numbers in the military then our country needs to just stop getting involved in other country’s problems if it doesn’t directly involve us.  I also believe that instituting the draft bill would undermine our country’s known society of volunteerism.  However, I also agree that no soldiers should have to do six tours of duty and that civilian service is a good option but I believe joining our military or even civilian service should remain voluntary.