The Draft

James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano) has come out for the reinstatement of the draft. I'm not sure how serious he was in the interview I've linked to below but his comments sound serious to me.

And I agree.

Certain Democrats made the point that if everyone in the country were forced to send their sons or daughters to war they'd think twice about supporting men like Bush for President. But I've felt the draft ought to be reinstated for a lot longer than that.

I'm not suggesting that everyone is fit for Army service or that morally everyone would agree. But if the draft were for national service and if the pay for selecting the military was double the pay for selecting something more like the Peace Corps, I think many would choose the military option. And due to the potential hazards involved, the military should certainly be worth the extra pay. Perhaps the military term of service could be shorter as well. Hey, I don't have all the answers! I do , however, believe having the youth of the country serving in whatever respect they chose would increase patriotism and our sense of nation. It would also expose a lot of kids to people they otherwise wouldn't meet which would probably combat racism. And it would decrease unemployment.

So, as long as everybody were subject to the same rules and guys like Bush and Cheney couldn't buy out, I'd be all for it. If the country is worthy of defending, and I believe it is, then my son and the son of the chairman of Exxon ought to be willing to do it. Buying the sons and daughters of the poor makes me feel dirty.