Magazine Draft Dodging Article

What if the draft still existed? What would you do if you were the one chosen to fight the war in Afghanistan? There are four roads you can take: go no matter what, go if my government convinces you that it was the right thing to do, leave the United States and never come back, or go to jail for five years and pay two hundred and fifty thousand dollar fine. If I have to pick from the four choices, I would choose to go if my country successfully convinces me that it is the right thing to do, even though I do not intend on going.

War is not something that can be taken lightly, and it's definitely not something to joke about. We all know that war is dangerous and critical. It devastates many people if we do not make it back out alive. "...so as I stated, for very selfish reasons...I don't want to experience anymore losses." This quote from Parent Response #6 proves my point of saying that it will sadden the people who love them. However, we normal people do not understand the intensity of it. "I was a little more dense and looked at the street bombings and said, 'Wow, that looks fun' and tried to talk to my dad into letting me join at 17 as the war was winding down. He said, not no, but hell no and told me I was going to college." This shows that war is not something you would want to get involved with, according to Parent Response #1. Parent Response #2 supported this by stating, "I would advise my sons to leave.....not exactly what you would expect from a career officer...." The son she is referring to has a grandfather who fought in three wars, two uncles who served in the Vietnam War, and parents who are career officers in the military. Even so, his mother still objected him from fighting in the war in Afghanistan.

"I had already pulled the pin on a grenade. I had come up to a crouch. It was entirely automatic. I did not hate the young man; I did not see him as the enemy; I did not ponder issues of morality or politics or military duty. I crouched and kept my head low. I tried to swallow whatever was rising from my stomach, which tasted like lemonade, something fruity and sour. I was terrified. There were no thoughts about killing." (O' Brien , pg. 132-133). Although you might have volunteered to fight in the war, you might not be able to withstand the consequences after joining. Many veterans have a strong conscience. However, everyone at least has some conscience. Like many other veterans of war, Tim O' Brien of The Things They Carried felt guilty about taking an innocent person's life. He felt that it came back to haunt him. My guilt conscience is probably much bigger than his because I would not even have the nerve to throw that grenade. I wouldn't be able to kill any mankind. Therefore, I would not be able to bear the responsibility of a veteran if I actually went to war.

However, despite all these cons in fighting the war, I have a responsibility