Reply #31: Has it occurred to you

[Tanuki]

that plenty of people serving in Iraq have been yanked away from those very activities, and don't get to "raise kids, keep families together, teach..." etc., as you suggest? Thousands of people who joined the national guard under a different understanding of what that would entail are serving multiple tours of duty in Iraq, totally disrupting their lives, families, and careers. I disagree with many of your premises, starting with your assertion that every time the war is debated, the discussion "devolves" into this one issue, which you can see is a silly generalization if you would bother to search the extensive archives here. Your claim that we have always had an army of a small number of citizens who "agree" to serve is also quite naive and inaccurate. We have often had a draft, and I can assure you that the reason we do not have one now is that the president and his ventriloquists know how quickly public sentiment would turn against the war if everyone was at equal risk of being sent to fight. Would you be quite so cavalier about the loss of lives if you knew that you and your friends or relatives would have to make that sacrifice? I am no fan of the senior George Bush, but at least he served his country honorably in wartime, unlike the craven degenerates he spawned. If the combat boot fits, wear it.