I was just wondering, What would the country, and more importantly, the nation's armed forces be like if President Nixon had cancelled active selective service recruitment in 1973?
What if young men , (And youn women as of Spetember 14th 2001) between the ages of 18 and 24 did NOT have to worry about being ordered to serve i nthe U.S. Army?
As we know during any given year, between ten and thirty percent of our armed forces are composed of men and women who were drafted to serve.
As was the case in Vietnam the children of many currently serving politicians and wealthy Americans were granted defferments. "I'm looking at YOU, Romney boys!"
Those chosen for conscription are as should have been expected drawn from those young Americans too poor, or too lacking in options to escape the green machine.
Also as expected, the Military is often saddled with discapline issues and acts of blatant dissobedience on the part of conscripted Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen that feel their compulsory service is an unearned punishment. (And perhaps they have something there)
The Iraq war was met with the same level of protest as the Vietnam war, and largly for the same reasons. Many felt it was waged by the wealthy and fought by the poor, the so called one percenters desire war and the children of the ninty-nine percent fight and die in it.
Even Afghanistan suffered protests to a lesser extent.
So, how would the absent of active Selective service recruitment alter that?
Would President Bush II have had a second term? Would Mitt Romney have done better without "Deffermentgate" dogging his carreer for the legth of the two wars?