In Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign, he was asked how best to end the war in Viet Nam. Much to many followers' surprise, he said, "The fastest way to end the war is to end draft deferments." Huh? On a first pass, this doesn't make sense. The second time through though it makes perfect sense-- draft deferments allowed wealthy, privileged young men to avoid serving in Viet Nam*. When government officials risked their own sons as the deferments ended, it seemed unlikely to RFK that the war would continue much longer.

This came back to mind recently while watching Ken Burns' The War. I was struck by the tremendous sacrifice we made as a nation. Whether it was as simple as gas rationing or recycling of tin to the ultimate sacrifice of a son, brother, or father, as a nation we pressed on together. The pain was shared among us all and the war was viewed as just. We had, after all, been attacked. Our nation's freedom was at stake and nothing less than complete dedication to victory was acceptable.

Fast forward to 2007... I know the times are different. We're fighting an ideological war, not a geopolitical one. There are no uniforms worn by the enemy, no clearly defined front. The method of modern warfare is vastly different in terms of the use of soldiers, munitions, technology, etc. What the Bush administration wants us the believe though, is that our cause is as just and righteous as that of World War II. If that's true, where is our nation's commitment?

In the September 24 edition of Newsweek, I read a letter to the editor written by Heidi Weiss. Ms Weiss responds to an op-ed piece written by Corporal Mark Finelli calling for re-instatement of the draft thusly:

"Everyone's heard the phrase "Freedom isn't free," but the phrase is not true at all right now in this country. As a veteran of the Air Force and the spouse of an active duty Air Force captain, I find that freedom is free for about 99% of Americans. We haven't had a tax increase to pay for this money pit of a war and we have only a small segment of society fighting and dying in it."

You can't get more succint than that. She sums up what many Americans have been feeling from the beginning. If this war in Iraq is just and necessary, then why were we asked simply to "go shopping" after 9/11? When will I be asked to sacrifice something? How is it that we can justify the incredible debt this war has required and never pay the first dime in additional taxes? Why is it that so few of our leaders' children are in harm's way and so many of the nation's everymen (and women) are at risk?

Considering the glee I felt at having the draft suspended near the end of the Viet Nam War and the sheer luck that the date of my birth allowed me never to have to register for the draft, I'm surprised by the statement I'm about to make. If reinstituting the draft will bring the troops home, I'm in favor of it. If having the draft causes our elected officials to objectively review the available intelligence instead of "cooking the books," I'm in favor. If the draft keeps our "fortunate sons" from avoiding what their fathers choose for the rest of us, I'm in favor.

* Editor's note: On a second reading, let me retract a portion of this statement. Not all draft deferments were given to wealthy, privileged people. There were many deserving people who got deferments. The abuse of deferments tended to come from people of privilege however.

Note: I'm not a huge CCR fan, but I am a huge fan of this song. What a scathing indictment of the Viet Nam era draft environment! This song and Ohio by CSNY still boil my blood.