Posted on 05/26/2004 11:15:27 AM PDT by G. Stolyarov II
(A public letter to Illinois Senator Peter Fitzgerald)
Most Honorable Senator Fitzgerald,
My passion for freedom and the ideals implicit in the founding of the United States of America is unwavering, and the words of Thomas Jefferson concerning the requirement for eternal vigilance if liberty is to be preserved come to mind as I become alerted of a menace to the fundamental rights of Americans that is closer to home than the threat of terrorism itself.
While the United States seeks to broadcast the image of liberation, free enterprise, and individual rights abroad, there is a design within the chambers and committees of the Capitol to desecrate these sacred principles at home. I am referring to the twin bills, S 89 and HR 163, which are currently pending before the Committee on Armed Services. These bills would institute a nationwide draft for which youths from ages 18 to 26 would be eligible, regardless of current educational or workplace endeavors or ideological convictions.
As a child, I immigrated to this country from the Republic of Belarus, a republic in name only. This nation languishes under the iron fist of the dictator Lukashenko, who passes every youth through a program of indoctrination by his regime, which features as its culmination two years of compulsory military service. I fled this threat from an admitted Neo-Communist and hater of America, only to be subjected to the menace of a viler and far less lenient draft in the freest country on Earth.
Lukashenko, for all his malice, still permits draft deferments for anyone enlisted in a facility of higher education. This draft would not. He permits intellectual youths to study abroad and thus avoid the draft indefinitely. But, due to the December 2001 “smart border declaration,” which shall attempt to apprehend potential draftees crossing into Canada, this draft would not. Even a dictator recognizes, at least partly, an individual’s right to forge his own destiny by means of attaining knowledge, skills, and a specialty in the realm of higher education. The proponents of this draft, a bipartisan movement including Congressmen Rangel and Hagel, do not.
The fundamental rights that are the natural property of every human being include the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. My right to life means that no individual, group, or government can ever possess the prerogative to kill me. Yet, by sending me to do battle abroad, against my consent, armed with only a doughboy’s knowledge of war, the government would render me easy prey for any terrorist or fanatic devious enough to know the elementary tactics I would have been taught. The government would be prepared to throw my life on the line, indeed, to throw it away, for service to some vaguely defined “higher cause.” Yet, whatever this higher cause is, if it intrudes on this country’s founding principles, it is soundly un-American.
My right to liberty implies the right to chart my own course in life, to select my own field of professional endeavor. I am a writer, not a soldier. Others have pursued the military path of their own volition, and I hold the highest reverence for their service to the cause of freedom worldwide. Yet they serve their individual causes above all; they had made the independent rational judgment that a fighting career would be of amplest benefit to them. I had not made that judgment. I would not make that judgment for them. And I would detest any tyrant, whatever name he chooses to go under, who would presume to make that judgment for me.
My right to the pursuit of happiness implies just that; so long as I do not violate others’ basic liberties, I am entitled to whatever ends I deem just and whatever means I deem fitting. I will indeed be happy if terrorism and dictatorship are eradicated worldwide. I have written articles, poetry, and commentary advocating America’s firm, uncompromising stance against those who would wish to threaten the lives and prosperity of its citizens. But my happiness is found in my study near a computer, not on a battlefield. In a country where free enterprise and specialization of labor are held essential to the progress of every individual, I should be permitted to remain where I sit.
If the draft ever becomes reality, and I continue this protest, as I vow I shall, I will no doubt be termed a traitor and a foe of patriotism. But it is precisely my devotion to the essence that this nation is supposed to represent that impels me to voice my opposition. In the words of the great American journalist and freedom-lover, Henry Louis Mencken, “The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naive and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.” It is no less than a radical stance against this abominable draft that I urge of you, Senator, and I hope that you will have the courage to resist its implementation in word and in deed.
I am G. Stolyarov II, Editor-in-Chief, The Rational Argumentator http://www.geocities.com/rationalargumentator/masterindex.html
Mr. Stolyarov is also the recipient of the February 2004 Editor's Choice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry, presented by poetry.com and the International Library of Poets. He can be contacted at gennadystolyarovii@yahoo.com.
This letter was also published on Congress.org: http://congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?letter_id=92413221
Visit TRA's Yahoo! Group, the newest means of notification and communication for our subscribers. You can find it at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rationalargumentator
You can sign up by sending an e-mail to rationalargumentator-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Visit TRA's Master Index at http://www.geocities.com/rationalargumentator/masterindex.html
Visit TRA's Issue XXII at http://www.geocities.com/rationalargumentator/index22.html
A self promoting vanity in the "news" catagory?
It would be interesting what type of response this letter's reasoning would have elicited in 1943.
Also, I'd be interested if these bills simply resume the traditional military draft...or if they now propose to draft females as well.
G. Stolyarov II should have paid better attention in class - Freedom ain't free. Canada is due north, keep the morning sun on your right and the afternoon sun on your left. Start walking. And don't come back.
Understand...and I believe he'll be taking in females as well: not a good policy in my estimation.
No matter what you may mean by "natural," know that the same Creator who conferred those rights on "every" human being can take them away, sometimes for hundreds of years at a stretch.
Just ask Israel.
Probably the same thing -- as least insofar as a war on foreign soil was concerned.
I think his rationale is actually quite sound. His point is that personal liberty is not subservient to the will of the state.
As a child, I immigrated to this country from the Republic of Belarus, a republic in name only. This nation languishes under the iron fist of the dictator Lukashenko -snip- I fled this threat from an admitted Neo-Communist and hater of America, only to be subjected to the menace of a viler and far less lenient draft in the freest country on Earth.
My grandparents came here from Hungary to escape the Bolsheviks. They and thousands of others fled to these shores, and fashioned themselves a new home, proudly learning the language and taking oaths of citizenship. And when danger came and their new nation called, their sons gladly answered. They knew opression.
And were they still alive today, they would know the enemy for what they are: Socialism, and "admitted Neo-Communist and hater of America," whether that name is Rodham, Ailinsky, Clinton, Chomsky, or Kennedy.
My right to life means that no individual, group, or government can ever possess the prerogative to kill me. Yet, by sending me to do battle abroad, against my consent, armed with only a doughboy’s knowledge of war, the government would render me easy prey for any terrorist or fanatic devious enough to know the elementary tactics I would have been taught.
And what right to life did the innocents have on September 11th, when their bodies were turned into powder? The Wahabbis didn't hearken to their protests of "right to life", did they?
I can personally attest to the training and professionalism of the men and women under my charge - to accuse my brethren under arms of being no better than Soviet conscripts is outrageous, and belies your knowledge of your adopted home.
My right to liberty implies the right to chart my own course in life, to select my own field of professional endeavor. I am a writer, not a soldier.
I am both writer and soldier. I aspire to the calling and greatness of both: to paint with the brushstrokes of words and uplift the spirit; and to stand ready to preserve that spirit for my children who follow me. I would not choose between either, therefore I shall be both.
My right to the pursuit of happiness implies just that; so long as I do not violate others’ basic liberties, I am entitled to whatever ends I deem just and whatever means I deem fitting.
You are entitled to NOTHING!! Can you not understand that? All things, even in the freest nation, come with a price. Freedom is not free; it is purchased and maintained by those who would gladly give that last full measure of devotion, thinking the cost justified and cheap. I am mixing quotes, but the montage in no way cheapens the meaning.
In a country where free enterprise and specialization of labor are held essential to the progress of every individual, I should be permitted to remain where I sit.
"And then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me." Remember those words?
And I would detest any tyrant, whatever name he chooses to go under, who would presume to make that judgment for me.
And I go forth to see that no one does.
Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Mr. Stolyarov? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something.You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand at post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
First, these draft revival bills are Rat sh!t, intended to stir bedwetters to protest our president and his foreign policy.
They have no chance of even getting out of committee.
Second, the draft is perfectly legal. It is a selective calling up of the unorganized militia.
Spud, if something bad happens and a draft is reinstituted, you gd better show.
Well put, FRiend! {{HUGS!}} You said it so much better than I could have. I am really getting tired of the "I don't wanna play war and you can't make me" game. Will the hippies never go away?? Seems they are re-invented with each new challenge to our country's sovereignty and security and they wanna sit on their A$$es and give it away. Thank you, Sarge, and all the other heroes in our military for doing the heavy lifting so that idiots like this CAN sit on their butts and whine.
Perfect, poohbah! And thank you!
All this draft stuff is just class baiting by the Dems. They make this silly argument that wars are fought primarily by kids whose families are of modest means, and that this is somehow unfair. They say kids from more prosperous families should serve in greater numbers.
Can you believe anyone buys this Democratic nonsense?
Last I checked, the Creator isn't serving in Congress.
If the Creator wants a draft, he can come on down and start one. Until then every man's natural rights remain.
Unbeleiveable isn't it??
Same story, different decade.
I love it!!! Those words fit this perfectly!
Yes,
Who is Josh btw? I will include him im my prayers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.