Rodricks

In principle, the draft seems like a way to level the playing field, but there are always loopholes, and just as with Vietnam, there would be people like Bush who'd manage to get out of service anyway.

I suppose I am bothered greatly by the idea of compulsory service in general, because I tend to believe that people shouldn't have to be forced to do service. As someone currently applying to join the Peace Corps, and with the intention of joining the Foreign or Civil Service as a career, I am bothered by the idea of making people serve. While I am bothered by the same trends that Rodricks argues are afoot, I don't believe that bringing back the draft will solve the problems of inequality in our society by a long shot, and could do greater damage than good. The military officials who argue for a volunteer military on the basis that those soldiers are more dedicated and motivated are not wrong, and the same is true of Americorps and Peace Corps volunteers.

Of course, unlike Rodrick, I know a fair number of people who have been directly impacted by the war in Iraq. I also know quite a few who are affected even more by the disparities in our health care system, educational institutions, and pay-scale. I know that a draft doesn't equal true equality, and I worry that, were the draft enforced, there would be those who would mistake the equal opportunity in service with widespread equal opportunity.

I agree that our citizenry must wake up, and I wish more people were invested in the idea and practice of service. But I have a number of problems myself with foreign service, and I held out against joining the Peace Corps for a long time in part because I heard so many stories of volunteers who exploited the communities they went to, and were viewed as arrogant intruders, not as part of a community. Just as with the military, there are always those who would get out of service, or, if they went, would result in the perpetuation and proliferation of such negative stories, perhaps even leading host countries to request Peace Corps withdrawal.

I agree with Rodericks' sentiment that

...it's the state of our culture. There is a real disconnect, more than ever, between the citizenry and the national government, and even our understanding of citizenship seems to have become murky. We're just not as vigilant as we should be. And we are cynical about politics -- a common malady that runs parallel with a lousy feeling that there are too many large, sinister forces working against the common good to make progressive action worthwhile. (3)

I think Americorps should expand and that service to the community should be emphasized at all levels, but I don't think any compulsory service should extend beyond the US borders. As it is, the US is too interventionist internationally, and adding compulsory military and Peace Corps service would only extend the reach of the US further. I recognize that it may sound duplicitous to argue against compulsory foreign service work while self-professing my dedication to the field, but I think that putting it in other terms may help. For instance, if anyone suggested compulsory service in banking, people in finance would have a cow, because banking is a specialty, it requires training in that field, and all the care and caution required of a specialty. I view Foreign Service in a similar way, and the US government does as well, which is why the Foreign Service test is considered one of the most difficult tests administered. While the Peace Corps is less rigorous, a lengthy application process is required, followed by selection and placement. Making foreign service compulsory would, I believe, diminish the quality of our work abroad, and could be disastrous for our diplomacy. I would love to be wrong, and I wish every US citizen cared deeply about the international community and the role of the US in it, I am doubtful.

While a simple military draft could ease the divide between rich and poor in this country, I doubt that it would. Rodricks may be right that compulsory military service would keep wars shorter, or prevent them altogether, but that still doesn't even begin to get at the heart of inequality in our nation, and would change the fact that there would be those who still would volunteer because the military is unlikely to ever do away with at least partial volunteer service, and those who volunteered would likely reap the most benefits from joining, leaving the same demographic questions being asked today.