Most privileged Americans avoid the military

post-gazette.com ^ | December 12, 2004 | Jack Kelly

[paudio]

Being inside the club reminded me of how much America's elite has degenerated.

The Union League was founded in 1862 to support the policies of President Abraham Lincoln. On the walls are portraits of prominent Philadelphians who gave their lives fighting for the Union. There are also plaques -- with many, many names on them -- of Union League members who died fighting in World Wars I and II. You can find similar plaques at Ivy League colleges.

I saw no plaque honoring Union League members who died fighting in Vietnam and subsequent conflicts.

[Wristpin]

Since the Democrats are wholly underrepresented in the military any draft plan should target them first. As Charlie Wrangle would say "It's all about fairness".

[SteveMcKing]

One can't measure nepotism, even as it exists in plain sight.

[Modernman]

But suppose we made it a requirement for holding federal elective office that candidates for the House and Senate must have an honorable discharge from the U.S. armed forces?

If you do this, you'd have to overturn the military's "don't ask, don't tell" rules. You'd also need exceptions for people who are disabled or belong to religions that do not allow service in the military.

I don't buy it. A large percentage of what our federal elected officials do has little, if anything, to do with the military. True, every once in a while military issues pop up, but why limit the pool of people who can be elected to Congress?

[Modernman]

The children of {serving} Congressmen and Senators would be classed 1A+, {Note the "+", these folks MUST serve ASAP (unless they have served)}. Same, for the kids of serving and past Presidents & VPs.

Such a provision would probably violate the Constitutional prohibition against "taintature of the blood." You are not Constitutionally allowed to pass laws that treat someone differently due to the actions of their parents.

[Modernman]

we have the majority of people in this country that have never known war, poverty, need, poor health, early death of older relatives or death of the very young...

Do you consider this to be a bad thing?

[DMZFrank]

The only good thing that the Commies ever did for this nation was to tie down nearly 80% of what was arguably the best army in the world at that time, the German Heer. Look at the trouble and casualties that we had subduing 25% of it in Western Europe. While our leadership would not have been as wasteful of life as the Red Soviets, I still shudder as to how many of our fathers and grandfathers would have been killed had we had to face only a few more of those divisions transferred from the Eastern Front.