Could a hybrid draft save America?
Now that I’ve left the military and I see what America has become, I no longer believe our country is better off for having gotten rid of the draft.
By Erik Sabiston
Posted on Jan 30, 2025
“Would you like to grab a bite? My treat.” Coming from a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains I didn’t meet many people different than me. My military service exposed me to the true melting pot of this country. So, one morning after I had befriended a French engineer at a conference, I bought him breakfast as we both waited for our delayed flights. While we talked, he bemoaned the end of France’s draft. “Now, the rich will not socialize with the poor, and our kids will turn out as bad as American kids.” At the time, I thought he was wrong.
I used to believe the all-volunteer military was superior to conscription. I still somewhat believe that, but now that I’ve left the military and I see what America has become, I no longer believe our country is better off for having gotten rid of the draft. Now I argue that the US would be better off if we were all forced to serve, to hang out with people we normally don’t talk to, to learn that just because someone votes a certain way that it doesn’t make them your enemy. What I do know for certain, though, is my military service turned me into a much more tolerant and open-minded person because of what I experienced first-hand. Like that old Louis Armstrong song, “Hello Brother.”
But no matter where you go, you’re gonna find
that people have the same things on their mind.
Today the United States stands on the edge of a potentially treacherous future. Enemies around the globe are expanding their physical and economic borders at a dizzying pace. Twentieth-century American exceptionalism (and our foregone assumptive dominance) is being challenged worldwide. Meanwhile, our nation is divided by political lines at home. Social media has only accelerated this schoolyard game of separating ourselves into echo chambers of opinions. A societal course correction is needed now, one that will strengthen our national resolve, our national security and realign our national identity. What’s more, should a large international conflict arise, we remain unprepared for the necessary ramp up of a large-scale force.
https://www.wearethemighty.com/feature/could-a-hybrid-draft-save-america/
