Interesting...

[lithera]

I don't think this will fly very far at all. I think it would be interesting and I personally have nothing against it. I can see where lots and lots of people would, however, have issues with it.

What do you think?

Comments

[pamc.livejournal.com]

Moot point fo rme. They wouldn't take me... I'm to physically phttt.

[pamc.livejournal.com]

I guess one of my biggest questions is how the hell would we be able to afford it? It's not like the military is a for-profit business... it's one of the largest money pits in our budget (next to education)

[gamethyme.livejournal.com]

Most other nations have it. It's why I can't go back to Greece, in fact.

Personally, I think it'd be a good thing ...

1) Military firearms training - They put a lot of importance on safety. This is good.
2) Trouble kids - My little brother was straightened out quite well by the Navy.

There are other reasons, of course, but those are the two big ones for me.

[torquemada.livejournal.com]

Ha! Like Congressbeings would care even if everyone's kids served. THey'd still get their own into the National Guard.

[seanb.livejournal.com]

Exactly. How many congressman's sons died in Vietnam?

[pamc.livejournal.com]

Died? I don't know. I know all my great uncle's kids came home alive. I think we had 3 in the army and another 5 in the navy. The rest were girls (although a few of them went into the navy or airforce).

Tom Curtis was U.S. Representative for Missori

[seanb.livejournal.com]

Interesting, and dispraportionate. I found this snippet chock-full of numbers, but haven't been able to verify it yet:

"Of the 234 sons of senators and congressmen who came of age during the
U.S. involvement in Vietnam, more than half -- 118 -- received
deferments. Only 28 of those 234 were in Vietnam. Of that group, only 10
saw combat. Of that 10, only one was wounded. This was as close as the
535 members of Congress came to any personal grief as a result of the
war."

Those numbers are supposedly out of "Long Time Passing" by Myra MacPherson. Combining this with what you said, that means that Tom Curtis' 8 sons in the army and navy during that time were a VERY large proportion of the sons of congressman that did go.

It really doesn't look like Tom Curtis abused his power to "protect" his children over and above other U.S. citizens. I don't know anything more about the man, but that deserves some respect.

[warpdragon.livejournal.com]

There were 88 sons, then, who were in the military but not in Vietnam. How many were active duty and how many were stateside assignments? Where were Tom Curtis' children stationed/deployed?

And isn't it sad that an apparent lack of corruption is enough to make Curtis stand out as praiseworthy?

[pamc.livejournal.com]

Oh.. and Tom didn't have 8 sons. I included my grandad's kids in there. He was in the Foreign Service and had the same leverage to pull his kids into whatever branch they wanted.

Funny story is, before the "war" broke out, my uncle Tig actually volunteered to go to Viet Nam. He'd grown up all over the world and had never been to the South Pacific. Where did they assign him for his tour of duty? Alabama.

[sepulchrave.livejournal.com]

hmm, interesting point of view.

[catwoman980.livejournal.com]

I have a huge problem with that. I've heard it suggested before, and it always pisses me off.

Service like that should never be forced. It goes against the very nature of freedom.

Of course, I have serious issues with draft sign up being mandatory.

[seanb.livejournal.com]

News on this is still pretty sparse; I found a slightly more detailed article on NewsMax.

Personally, I am morally and pragmatically opposed to military conscription, and not just because I am an american male age 18-26.

If this actually is intended to be a deterrent for warmongering congressmen, this will need to be structured in a manner substantially different from our existing draft system.

[fireballof3.livejournal.com]

I think, overall, it is an interesting idea that deserves exploration.

Not that I think it would get farther than just an idea, but it does have it's merits.

*shrug*

[arctures.livejournal.com]

I am reminded, oddly, of Starship Troopers.. the book, not the movie.

[elscoobysnacko.livejournal.com]

I would only be okay with it if I was allowed to choose which service branch I'd go into. Also I don't think we're blood thirsty to go and fight in Iraq but more like we were stupid last time and we won't let another chance to get the man out of office slip past us.

[trilliumgrl.livejournal.com]

Interesting, but problematic. The first example that springs to my mind is Israel, which is currently have lots of problems with conscientious objectors and the like. This is a press release from Amnesty International, talking about just a few of Israeli conscientious objectors who have been imprisoned. Can't say as I see the US dealing with a similar problem any better.