1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Mandatory Service for Young Adults

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Point of Order, Sep 6, 2011.

Page 6 of 12
  1. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    Then how did we ever manage a draft?
     
    Azrael, Sep 8, 2011
    #61
  2. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    A convoluted Supreme Court case from 1918.

    But same principle. It does fly in the face of our civil liberties.

    Daniel Webster, addressing the U.S. House of Representatives in 1814. He was as right then as he would be now.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 8, 2011
    #62
  3. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    I'm out of my expertize here. I know local draft boards were set up.

    But, once folks were drafted, they were turned over to the military, which had the experience and expertize to train and deploy their new recruits.

    With mandatory service, you'd either have to send untrained, unmotivated, kids to private charitable groups who would be overwhelmed by them, or you'd have to set up a bureaucracy to train and deploy them.

    Is that workable?

    Do we have enough "volunteer ready jobs" for them to do?
     
    YankeeFan, Sep 8, 2011
    #63
  4. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    Then why did most state constitutions contain the provision that all able-bodied men be turned out with a weapon for the state militia?

    Surely even Mr. Webster cannot object to a citizen being called upon to do his duty.
     
    Azrael, Sep 8, 2011
    #64
  5. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    Invoking 150-year-old sensibilities on this does not strengthen your argument.

    Seems our founding fathers had a number of ideas that didn't hold up with time.
     
    jr/shotglass, Sep 8, 2011
    #65
  6. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    You can drive without a driver's license. All day long on your private property.
     
    RickStain, Sep 8, 2011
    #66
  7. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member


    What argument?

    I'm simply pointing out that our Constitutions - Federal and State - are always as flexible as we decide we need them to be.
     
    Azrael, Sep 8, 2011
    #67
  8. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    Absolutely true.

    And having done so, how far will you have gotten?
     
    Azrael, Sep 8, 2011
    #68
  9. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    Far enough that the assertion that a driver's license is mandatory is false.

    You seem to be trying to gloss over the distinction between restriction on behavior and compulsion to behavior. That's kind of an important distinction.
     
    RickStain, Sep 8, 2011
    #69
  10. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    I'm not glossing over anything at all.

    I'm simply responding to the assertion made upthread that there's no such thing in American life as "mandatory."

    If you want to drive on public streets, a state drivers license is mandatory. As is the city liquor license I cited, as is the county real estate tax I cited, etc.

    I'm not asserting any of these things as an argument toward mandatory service. I'm simply responding to the notion that nothing in US life is "mandatory."

    By common agreement - constitutional or social - we make many things "mandatory" in this society.
     
    Azrael, Sep 8, 2011
    #70
  11. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Because the idea then was that we shouldn't have a Federal government that was too strong. Too much ability for it to turn despotic. So the ability to protect ourselves was left to the people, or the individual states, which in those days all had state militias. They did all the way through to the early 1900s. And they were sent to war when necessary, for example, the War of 1812, the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. Sometime in the 1900s, that gave way to National guards, which are organized by states.

    I realize the idea of the states as all having their own interests (and thus being more representative of the people) seems antiquated now. But it doesn't change the fact that one of the core elements of our country's foundation is individual liberty, which means we are free people. Compelling people to do anything that treads on their liberty and freedom is just wrong, and it flies in the face of what this country is supposed to be about. YOUR interests -- even if you think you are prescribing something good and noble -- are not necessarily my interests. And you shouldn't be allowed to dictate my life that way.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 8, 2011
    #71
  12. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    The most basic idea that we are a country that guarantees individual liberty and civil liberties either holds up with time or we are not the country we say we are. This is basic to who we are. Our Bill of Rights and our Constitution is basic to who we are. It sometimes gets stomped on or pushed aside in wrong-headed ways, but it is supposed to guide us with the very basic concept that we are free to do with our lives, so long as we don't infringe on others civil liberties.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 8, 2011
    #72
Page 6 of 12
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page