The Flow of Consciousness

Who did we just elect? Where Obama and I differ on social and economic policy, as well as civil liberties and philosophy of the role of government (read: just about everything), I thought we agreed on military service and conscription.

Apparently, that’s not the case.

Obama calls for US military mobilization.

But it’s also important that a president speaks to military service as an obligation not just of some, but of many. You know, I traveled, obviously, a lot over the last 19 months. And if you go to small towns, throughout the Midwest or the Southwest or the South, every town has tons of young people who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s not always the case in other parts of the country, in more urban centers. And I think it’s important for the president to say, this is an important obligation. If we are going into war, then all of us go, not just some.

I don’t know how I missed this back in September. I don’t know how I don’t know about this. It’s conceivable that I was on a mental vacation that day, but I would think that there would have been more hullabaloo about it on the news.

Oh, wait, the Republicans wouldn’t mind it, too. They’re just too smart to sponsor at this time H.R. 393, the Universal National Service Act of 2007, also known as the latest version of NY Democrat Chuck Rangel’s Draft Reinstatement Act.

Here are the particularly scary parts of H.R. 393:

SEC. 102. NATIONAL SERVICE OBLIGATION.

      (a) Obligation for Service- It is the obligation of every citizen of the United States, and every other person residing in the United States, who is between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform a period of national service as prescribed in this title unless exempted under the provisions of this title.
      (b) Forms of National Service- The national service obligation under this title shall be performed either--
            (1) as a member of an active or reserve component of the uniformed services; or
            (2) in a civilian capacity that, as determined by the President, promotes the national defense, including national or community service and service related to homeland security.
      (c) Age Limits- A person may be inducted under this title only if the person has attained the age of 18 and has not attained the age of 42.

SEC. 103. INDUCTION TO PERFORM NATIONAL SERVICE.

      (a) Induction Requirements- The President shall provide for the induction of persons described in section 102(a) to perform their national service obligation.
      (b) Limitation on Induction for Military Service- Persons described in section 102(a) may be inducted to perform military service only if--
            (1) a declaration of war is in effect;
            (2) the President declares a national emergency, which the President determines necessitates the induction of persons to perform military service, and immediately informs Congress of the reasons for the declaration and the need to induct persons for military service; or
            (3) members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps are engaged in a contingency operation pursuant to a congressional authorization for the use of military force.

The bill requires women to register for selective service, as well. It addresses conscientious objectors by placing them in noncombatant positions, meaning there is no way out of this.

The bill does not specify penalties for noncompliance, nor does it address post-secondary students (does allow high schoolers to continue until they earn a diploma, drop out, or turn 20).

What’s the likelihood of H.R. 393 suddenly getting passed? Slim and none. However, it exists, and Congress has been rather swift to move on things such as the PATRIOT Act, the DMCA, FISA Amendments, and the recent Wall Street bailout. Moreover, there is significant, indefatigable evidence that Obama supports the reinstatement of the draft.

I’ve learned a lot in the past year. I’ve become an independent person, living on my own and making my own money.

At this time last year, I was living in the Phi Kappa Tau house at Westminster College while taking a single graduate-level education class at Robert Morris University. I had just graduated from Westminster, and had taken during my last semester a class on American history and literature from 1492 to 1877.

The content of the class was heavily focused on the independence of the colonies, the American revolution, the founding of the nation, and the building of it. We spent only the last two of the 14 week semester on the civil war, but I didn’t mind. The civil war is interesting, but what caught my interest far, far more was the actual reasons for separating from Britain and the persons behind the movement.

I read Jefferson’s and Franklin’s autobiographies, as well as Paine’s Common Sense. At the onset of the class, I read Emerson’s “American Scholar” even though it wasn’t written until well into the 1800s. All of these documents affected me and my concept of scholarship, liberty, justice, and freedom.

It wasn’t until October or so when I heard of a Pittsburgh-native Texas Congressman named Ron Paul, an OB/GYN who’d found a calling in public service. Having recently read up on Barack Obama, I was interested to see who’d be challenging the senator from Illinois (yes, I called that early).

I was impressed with Dr. Paul’s platform. His focus on the Constitution and the restoration, or rather, a return to the observation of its powers, as well as his persona and depth of knowledge—and ability to explain his economic and foreign policies convinced me that he is the man to support for president of this great country. I drew a lot of lines between his desire for a conservative budget and non-interventionist foreign policy and those of the aforementioned forefathers and their peers. Dr. Paul really is, in policy and belief, a founding father.

Since that time, I’ve read some of Dr. Paul’s books, as well as books, blogs, and other works by other liberty-minded folks and fully believe in the restoration of traditional American liberty and a return to the traditional American foreign policy of non-interventionism and the traditional American free market economy. I hope to attend the R3VOLution March in D.C. on July 12 to hear Dr. Paul speak and participate in a rally and demonstration to show that 15,000 Americans want real change in Congress, not the superficial change promised by the remaining candidates.

Something which I recently realized I take for granted is my own freedom and independence: my freedom to speak my mind, my freedom to own a firearm, my freedom from unwarranted search and seizure, and the many other rights granted by the Constitution to me and every other American citizen. Conscription is all but dead here, and it’s fairly widely-accepted that there never will be another draft.

I took a job in May at a company in Pittsburgh and moved there, too. I have many coworkers, but only a few actually live in the US and work locally.

Recently, a foreign coworker of mine finished a degree in computer science at a top technical university in his homeland. He graduated on Saturday, and moved into a new flat on Monday to live his life as an independent person. Wednesday, he got a call, and was told he’d been drafted by his country’s military for compulsory service. For the next year, he’ll be patrolling the streets. He won’t have access to a computer for weeks or even months, if at all. He won’t be able to practice his art of crafting code. He won’t be able to enjoy the freedoms I enjoy. “I have no words,” he said to me. “All this higher education, and I’ll be police,” he said.

Another coworker, who left that country before he was conscripted, said that he would not be treated as we’d think. Our American military is a heaven compared to this former Soviet country’s military. There would be beatings meant to “toughen him up” and whatnot—the guy weighs just more than 100 pounds and doesn’t have much muscle on him. He’d not have the health care, benefits, and leave that American troops get. He’d not have much of anything except what the military gives him.

I know that duty is duty and, if asked, I would probably join the American military if I saw that I could be of use during a time of just war. However, since the US has been in but three just wars (one of which, WWI, is arguable, though, depending on the company discussing it), I doubt that I would join the military. My local coworkers and I want to help this man, but there’s nothing we can do.

While I’ll be enjoying Independence Day today and returning work and my apartment in Pittsburgh next week, yesterday was his last day working for us for a year. We’ll be glad to have him back when his conscription comes to a close; when he is once again independent.