🚀 go-pugleaf

HELL NO, LET'S GO

By Ted Rall 

See the World, Minus Killing 

NEW YORK--Here's another sign that the world is coming to an end:
conservative Republicans are now fighting off liberal Democratic efforts to
bring back the draft. 

On New Year's Eve Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY), a liberal
African-American who represents Harlem, announced his contrarian war cry on
the op-ed page of The New York Times. Noting the White House's desire to
attack Iraq with or without an excuse, Rangel linked Bush's bellicosity to
the fact that the soldiers in America's all-volunteer armed forces are
disproportionately black and poor: "I believe that if those calling for war
knew their children were more likely to be required to serve--and to be
placed in harm's way--there would be more caution and a greater willingness
to work with the international community in dealing with Iraq." 

Fellow Congressman John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), echoed Rangel's remarks,
arguing that lawmakers would be less likely to send young men into
frivolous, politically-motivated oil wars "if their own family members and
neighbors faced the prospects of serving in the military on the front
line." 

The current Selective Service system was created in 1980 by Jimmy Carter.
If Rangel gets his way, 11.1 million registrees representing every class
and race, starting with 20-year-olds and working up to age 25, would be
called to serve in the armed forces. Eighteen- and 19-year-olds would go
last. 

"We're not going to re-implement a draft. There is no need for it at all,"
counters Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. 

Rangel has a point. Only one of the Congressmen who voted in favor of war
with Iraq has a child in uniform. No wonder legislators consider soldiers
disposable--they're someone else's kids! But let's get serious. Neither the
military nor the Bushies want to draft the children of white suburban swing
voters. And Rangel's merely making a clever wee point about Iraq. 

So why are we talking about the draft? Our present and possibly permanent
war footing came out of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which were carried out
by men who hated Americans. 

Why do they hate us? Two years later, we're still arguing about this
question. Hawks believe that Islamists and other anti-American groups are
jealous of our freedoms. Doves blame us for insensitivity and arrogance:
throwing our weight around the world as if we owned it generates resentment
and anger. Either way, it's clear that the best way to avoid future World
Trade Centers is to get to a place where foreigners like Americans more
than they do now. 

That's where my idea comes in. Mandatory public service is a good idea, but
rather than send young adults off to war or make them put in time planting
trees or picking up trash--wasting the best years of their lives on killing
and make-work--why not send them to study overseas for two years? 

Sound crazy? Here's crazy: only seven percent of Americans own a
passport--fewer than 20 million people--and only a fraction of those ever
use one. Citizens of the United States, whose military and culture exert
more international influence than those of every other nation combined, are
among the planet's least-traveled homebodies. We're love to tell other
folks what to do, but we never see where or how they live, much less get to
know who they are. 

And that's also nuts. 

I propose an International Youth Service, which would require every
able-bodied 18-year-old American to travel, at government expense, to a
foreign city of the federal government's choosing. They would remain there
for two years, acting as cultural ambassadors while learning about other
societies firsthand. They would learn the local language, make friends,
study, play sports, work, volunteer--whatever they would have done had they
remained in the United States. Though taxpayers would provide a modest
stipend to cover basic expenses (which would cost less per person than a
draft), they would be expected to earn money and live in typical local
housing. Work permits and places in foreign universities would be provided
by host governments. U.S. International Youth Service agencies in each city
would employ counselors to check up on "draftees." 

Aside from providing them with marketable skills during an age of
increasing globalization, International Youth Service would open the eyes
of Americans to the simple fact that we are not alone. There are other ways
of worshipping, of looking at the world, of existing, than the American
way. Most kids will probably come home more convinced than ever that the
U.S. is the best country on earth--but that belief would be based on
something more substantive than jingoistic team spirit. 

At the same time our youth are broadening their horizons, citizens of their
host nations would be getting to know us. They would soon realize that, at
the core, our similarities outweigh our differences. And they'd see
Americans at their best, fresh out of high school with high hopes for
helping people and making a difference. Overseas, the Ugly American
stereotype would fade, replaced with a view of Americans as inquisitive,
outgoing, curious and well-informed. Although foreigners often dislike our
government policies--as we often do--they tend to like us as individuals.
The more Americans they meet, the better. 

(Ted Rall is the author of "Gas War: The Truth Behind the American
Occupation of Afghanistan (news - web sites)," an analysis of the
Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline and the motivations behind the war on terrorism.
Ordering information is available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.)