THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

LIBERALS WANT THE DRAFT BACK BECAUSE THEY WANT THE SIXTIES BACK | 2003-01-11

Black congressman Charles Rangel of New York has proposed that the military draft be renewed for the war on terror. Liberals say they want the draft back so that all classes of Americans would share the burden and risk of military service.

Back on Planet Earth, the last time the draft helped share the military burden was during World War II when practically everybody was drafted. Since then the rich have avoided serious military service if they wanted to, draft or no draft.

The reason the left wants the draft back is because Bush is using the War on Terrorism to win elections. The peace movement today is very, very weak.

The liberals' real reason for wanting the draft back is because they want the hippies back. Rangel wants all those wonderful leftist protests on campus springing up the way they did during the Vietnam War.

Back in the 1960s those campus riots were used to force the government to move left. Back in the 1960s those protests by young people on campus were also used to show that leftism was "the way of the future".

If the draft is renewed liberals think it will mean a return of The Good Old Days.