Health
Speak Out: Abolish the Draft?
Is it time for the military draft to disappear? Congress has dropped funding for the Selective Service System in next year's appropriations bill.
Unless the money's restored, men no longer will be required to register at age 18, Selective Service offices will close and the list of 13.5 million Americans who can be called to serve in a national emergency will not be maintained.
Votes to eliminate the funding came from both sides of the political fence, but those who want to maintain the system say the draft's an insurance policy for our future -- and women as well as men should be required to serve.
Others say the money can be better spent on such programs as housing and the environment and we can easily mobilize volunteers in an emergency.
Where do you stand? Should the draft be continued -- and should women as well as men be mandated to register? Or has the system outlived its usefulness?
Speak Out on the ThirdAge Opinion Page.
Unless the money's restored, men no longer will be required to register at age 18, Selective Service offices will close and the list of 13.5 million Americans who can be called to serve in a national emergency will not be maintained.
Votes to eliminate the funding came from both sides of the political fence, but those who want to maintain the system say the draft's an insurance policy for our future -- and women as well as men should be required to serve.
Others say the money can be better spent on such programs as housing and the environment and we can easily mobilize volunteers in an emergency.
Where do you stand? Should the draft be continued -- and should women as well as men be mandated to register? Or has the system outlived its usefulness?
Speak Out on the ThirdAge Opinion Page.
