There is an interesting article in Newsweek about the military now allowing trans people to serve.
No back to the article,
I am going to go off topic now and talk about the draft.
Everyone should have to register for the draft; men, women, gays, lesbians, bi, and trans people should have to register when they turn 18 including those with physical or mental disabilities. There must be some jobs in the military that allow people with disabilities can do, especially disable veterans if they want to continue their service to their country.
I also believe that everyone should have to serve in the military, once you complete your education you should have to do two years in the military. I believe the reason why so many people were against the Vietnam war was that it could very well be your child who was called up to serve.
Now with the all-volunteer military people don’t care as much if we go to war… well they volunteered. But with mandatory military service parents will think twice about possibly sending their child to war.
And it shouldn’t be a draft but mandatory service; there were just too many ways for children of privilege to get out of the draft. For me it was college and when the university asked me to take a semester off I got a job at a defense plant making Navy helicopters (LAMPS SH2D Seasprite).
QUORA: DROPPING TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN A 'BIG WIN FOR EQUALITY'I have to agree with that, what President Obama has done to advance LGBT civil rights is amazing!
By Quora Contributor
7/17/16
The Pentagon's decision to lift the ban on transgender service members is very significant. The U.S. federal government under President Obama has in eight short years erased decades of institutionalized discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. The president has done more for LGBTQ rights than any other president. There simply is no second place.
No back to the article,
In removing these barriers to service, America will be joining other countries such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom which have already allowed transgender persons to serve in their militaries. The fact that so many countries do have effective fighting forces and that the inclusion of transgender persons has not negatively impacted their armed services shows that there really is no good excuse to deny military service.I believe that anyone who is physically and mentally capable of should be allowed to serve; if you can do the job should be the only requirement.
Transgender people are no less able to protect, serve, fight and if need be die for their country than anyone else. America has had many very respected soldiers that later transitioned after leaving the service or were forced to leave due to their transition. Some of these included Navy Seals like Kristin Beck, American Revolutionary war soldiers such as Albert Cashier, Marines such as Janae Kroc, Army lieutenant colonel and billionaire Jennifer Pritzker, Army Colonel Sheri Swokowski and naval officers such as Mary Elizabeth Clark and Autumn Sandeen among many others. It is estimated that as many as 15,000 current military soldiers may be serving with untreated gender dysphoria.
I am going to go off topic now and talk about the draft.
Everyone should have to register for the draft; men, women, gays, lesbians, bi, and trans people should have to register when they turn 18 including those with physical or mental disabilities. There must be some jobs in the military that allow people with disabilities can do, especially disable veterans if they want to continue their service to their country.
I also believe that everyone should have to serve in the military, once you complete your education you should have to do two years in the military. I believe the reason why so many people were against the Vietnam war was that it could very well be your child who was called up to serve.
Now with the all-volunteer military people don’t care as much if we go to war… well they volunteered. But with mandatory military service parents will think twice about possibly sending their child to war.
And it shouldn’t be a draft but mandatory service; there were just too many ways for children of privilege to get out of the draft. For me it was college and when the university asked me to take a semester off I got a job at a defense plant making Navy helicopters (LAMPS SH2D Seasprite).
But let us always leave room for those among us who are morally opposed to war and war making and not in anyway define who isn't or who is a conscientious objector by using the religion yardstick. Very few got CO status outside of Quakers, the Amish, the Anabaptist, and the Mennonites. All sorts of religious arguments were thrown into the faces of those of us who were Catholic, Lutheran, etc. from the Just War Theory, to Luther's, Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants.(that one always makes me laugh) Try being 18 and explaining those things to war mongers at the Selective Service Office.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure that I agree in bringing back the draft or any type of mandatory service. That would depend on who is making the rules by which we all are to follow. Back in the late 60's I opposed the draft, went to jail over it because of the way in which it was conducted and with the belief that war was morally wrong. None of the sons of the war profiteers went or the wealthy or those who thought they had more to offer civilization (Clinton, Bush, Cheney) than us working class folks. One thing I did notice was many people were what was called liberals of convenience. They oppose war, the draft the polices of Johnson and Nixon because it affected them. Once that burden was taken away they became conservative waved the flag from their armchairs and displayed their true disgusting colors. We see the same thing today and the attack by Drones is making matters worse. Only a few are brave enough to stand up against the wars that the Obama administration has been conducting. As long as those bombs are dropping elsewhere, as long as me, myself and I are not called up to help the effort GREAT!! Go go USA. We see much of the same in our movements.
One thing that I will always oppose is the idea that the working poor and the poor in order to get an education have to serve in the military. But the rich can get all the education that they want with being asked to put their lives on the line. Free education for all is a must. So with the idea of mandatory service, once one has received an education they must serve, the poor or working class who can not afford an education would still be the first to go and the first to die which the sons and daughters of the wealthy sit in school.
I have since Vietnam opposed all wars. As I get older now I can see the flaw in this. As I get older I understand that the only war worth fighting is Class War! No war but Class War is the only way to go.