On April 13, the United States dropped the “Mother of All Bombs” in Afghanistan. The weapon, which was America’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb and cost $16 million to produce, made some Americans ask whether or not we would soon use the draft for the first time since 1973.
The Selective Service System began operating and maintaining a draft in 1980. It actively seeks young men to register, and registration for the draft is required of all men ages 18 through 25.
The draft is constitutional. It grants Congress the permission to “raise and support Armies,” and no court case has overturned that idea. However, even though it is the law of the land, the draft is amoral and does not reflect American values.
If you want to join the U.S. Armed Forces, I will thank you for your service no matter how I feel about war or our country’s actions. But I cannot support the government forcing millions of citizens to possibly kill or get killed in a war they may not even believe in.
The 13th Amendment prohibits involuntary solitude. The 1918 Supreme Court case Arver v. United States said the draft does not violate the amendment, but it walks on too thin a line.
Though the government doesn’t technically enslave you to go to war, the consequences of refusing the draft can ruin your life and therefore coerce compliance. A 1988 Supreme Court decision ruled the 13th Amendment does not protect people from coercion, but when intimidation comes from the government itself, it goes beyond simple coercion.
Failure to register for the draft can result in a fine of up to $250,000 and disqualification from many federal programs, such as student aid. If the draft is put to use and you refuse to serve, you may be imprisoned for up to five years in federal prison on counts of draft evasion.
The draft exploits the citizens of this country, and saying conscription is a patriotic cause is a propaganda. The nostalgia of the World War II era romanticizes the draft, and it hides the fact that patriotism does not simply equate military service.
If we don’t have enough Americans to fight in a war, we shouldn’t be fighting a war. By enforcing a draft, America would force a lot of our citizens to die, and it would force a lot of innocent people to die overseas as well. Opposing the draft isn’t solely about defending our freedom; it is about refusing to contribute to a system that will help take away the freedom of others.
Some people can take their freedom to war, but the draft does not allow for true American freedom. Patriotism is about the people’s conscious choice to love America for its freedom, despite its flaws.
Lynne Bunch is an 18-year-old mass communication freshman from Terrytown, Louisiana.