The Draft – A Reason to Vote if You’re Under 30

You already blew it: You didn’t vote last time, or voted for Nader or Bush, and now you’re gonna get drafted. There’s no way around it now, the draft is almost a certainty.

You’re hearing about Reserve and National Guard units being called up, and about people not allowed to leave the military even though their term is up. Have you thought about what this means to you? You KNOW this means they’re having trouble finding enough soldiers to go to Iraq, right? Of course Bush doesn’t want to start the draft BEFORE the election. Duh! But what do you think happens the day AFTER the election?

I repeat, they are having trouble finding enough soldiers to go to Iraq. Think about it. Right, you’re gonna get drafted.

Or, maybe you think they can’t do that? Maybe you think the draft doesn’t happen in America. Maybe you think they can’t just grab your ass up off the street, stick a rifle in your hands and send you off to war? Of course not, that NEVER happens. Right.

WAR. Yes, that word. The word you have been hearing from Bush’s lips for months now. “I’m a WAR president”, he says. Well, what did you think war MEANS? Somebody ELSE’S war? Did you think it means you get to watch a TV show with planes and stuff?

No, WAR means young people getting grabbed up off the street and sent off to fight. That. Is. What. War. Is.

And, by the way, women and students are NOT going to be exempt this time. Maybe not even rich kids. ONLY the children of politicians will be exempt. THIS TIME.

So, are you finally ready to do something about it THIS TIME? Which candidate do you think is more likely to grab your ass off the street and send it to Iraq? Which candidate do you think is more likely to start a war with Iran, or Syria, or maybe even North Korea? Like Bush says, we’re at war, and that’s the issue in this election. Well, THAT’S what you should be thinking about THIS TIME.

So vote. THIS TIME.

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Except there’s a problem with this message. Young people are so disengaged that there probably aren’t very many of them reading weblogs like this one, so they won’t see this. And that means they might not figure this stuff out in time for the election. You have to help them. Take this post and copy it and paste it into an e-mail and send it to someone who is under 30. Or write your own message explaining what the draft is, and why they should be concerned enough to actually vote. It is important to explain that the draft actually CAN happen to them. If you’re old enough you can tell them from experience.