Civic duty — 'Whenever' or Never
Editing and excerpting by Carolyn Bennett from Andrew J. Bacevich’s The Limits of Power: the End of American Exceptionalism.
Conscription means children of the political elite and well-to-do will once again bear their fair share. Conscription continues to make a nice rant in letters to editors and Americans feign disdain for mercenaries; but many of them “harbor an even greater dislike for the prospect of sending their loved ones to fight in some godforsaken country on the other side of the world.” On this one, Congress is onboard, making impossible the enactment of legislation restoring the draft. Andrea Bacevich is ending The Limits of Power with “The Military Crisis.”“Support the troops” sloganeers
“Far from producing a stampede of eager recruits keen to don a uniform,” Bacevich writes, “the events of 9/11 reaffirmed a widespread popular preference for hiring someone else’s kid to chase terrorists, spread democracy, and ensure access to the world’s energy reserves. In the midst of a global war of ostensibly earthshaking importance, Americans demonstrated a greater affinity for their hometown sports heroes than for the soldiers defending the distant precincts of the American imperium. …”
Soldier/society disconnect, chasm
“… A reliance on professional soldiers eviscerates [guts, removes vital parts of] the concept of civic duty, relieving [the citizen] of any obligation to contribute to the nation’s defense. Ending the draft during the waning days of the Vietnam War did nothing to heal the divisions created by that conflict; instead, it ratified the separation of army from society. Like mowing lawns and bussing tables, fighting and perhaps dying to sustain the American way of life became something that Americans pay others to do.”
“… Seldom in American history have questions of fairness or equity played a decisive role in shaping public policy. The present moment does not qualify as one of those occasions; if it were, we would not tolerate the gaping disparities between rich and poor in our society. Relying on a small number of volunteers to bear the burden of waging an open-ended global war might make Americans uneasy, but uneasiness will not suffice to produce change. To salve the nation’s conscience, the government might augment our hard-pressed troops with pricey contractor-mercenaries, but it won’t actually trouble citizens to do anything.
“Indeed, the privatization of war — evident in the prominence achieved by armies-for-rent such as the notorious Blackwater—suggests a tacit willingness to transform military service from a civic function into an economic enterprise, with money rather than patriotism the motive.
“Americans may not like mercenaries, but many of them harbor an even greater dislike for the prospect of sending their loved ones to fight in some godforsaken country on the other side of the world.”
Army/society repair
A way to repair the relationship between army and society “is to junk the All-Volunteer Force altogether.” Revive, perhaps, “the tradition of the citizen-soldier.”
“… For those moved by moral considerations, a draft promises to ensure a more equitable distribution of sacrifice in wartime. No longer, will —
Rural Americans
People of color
Recent immigrants
Members of the working class
Fill the ranks of the armed forces in disproportionate numbers.
“With conscription, the children of the political elite and well-to-do will once again bear their fair share of the load. Those reaping the benefits of the American way of life will contribute to its defense, helping to garrison the more distant precincts of empire. Perhaps editorial staffs of the Weekly Standard, National Review, and the New Republic might have the opportunity to serve” … given their magazines’ propensity to argue on behalf of military intervention.
“America doesn’t need a bigger army. It needs a smaller, more modest, foreign policy… Modesty implies giving up on the illusions of grandeur to which the end of the Cold War and then 9/11 gave rise. It means reining in imperial presidents who expect the army to make good on those illusions. When it comes to supporting the troops — here lies the essence of a citizen’s obligation.”
Source
Andrew J. Bacevich is Boston University professor of history and international relations.
The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (Bacevich, Andrew J), New York: Metropolitan Books, 2008, pages 131, 138, 155, 138-139, 139-140, 169
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Bennett's books available at New York independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Present Tense books and gifts: presenttensebooks.com [Batavia, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Talking Leaves Books-Elmwood: talking.leaves.elmwood@gmail.com [Buffalo, NY]
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