Women and the Draft...

Alright, this entry has nothing to do with Landon, how cute he is or how big he's getting.  I have no clue how many people actually read our blog and who you will be voting for on Nov. 4, but I really want everyone I know to have a look at this article and then have a chance to think about it and respond. 

My dad sent me this article and suggested I give it a read...  If you have a few minutes, follow the link, read the article and then the following response. 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08287/919582-470.stm?cmpid=elections.xml

My dad, a Navy Commander, great dad, Christ-Follower, safety monitor and super analytical thinker wrote the following and I must say that I passionately agree.   

To quote Senator Obama from the article, "And I think that if women are registered for service -- not necessarily in combat roles, and I don't agree with the draft -- I think it will help to send a message to my two daughters that they've got obligations to this great country as well as boys do."

 

So much for plain speaking.  He thinks women need to register for service (draft) but he doesn't agree with a draft.  You can't have it both ways.  Registration has always been to determine numbers eligible for the draft should one be necessary, not to promote some amorphous sense of obligation.  It is the prelude to a draft.

 

Is there anyone in America that believes we have to conscript or prepare to conscript women in the Armed Forces for them to understand that they have responsibilities and oblitgations to this country?  I think, not.  Some of the, if not the greatest patriots are the mothers of this country who raise their children to believe, to stand up for what's right and do their duty.  Women don't need to register for the Selective Service to know this, they are on the front lines everyday raising good kids and providing homes for their families.  That is not to say that this is the only role they fill, nor is it the only path, I just think it's infantile and ludicrous to believe that women somehow will be taught a greater obligation to country through registering with for Selective Service.

 

I am absolutely, vehemently opposed to the registration of women for Selective Service. This article absolutely sickens me. This is about my daughters, not Women's Liberation. The choices my daughters make are their own and I support them, but I would rather fight to the gates of Hell than see women have to register for the draft in America. Women are and can be very effective fighters, but this is not my vision for America and hopefully, not your either. So if your on the fence about voting, consider this issue carefully because these ideas are powerful and unless un-checked they have a way of coming to fruition. Please don't take this lightly.

When I was on active duty and the debate about women in combat was raging, I said at the time (1990) that my strong objection to women in combat was not an objection to the few that wanted to serve in that capacity, but that this would inevitably lead to the conscription of all women into the military.  I was told by many officers senior to me that the drafting of women would never happen.  I argued that they were wrong and respectfully disagreed.  Guess what, we've just taken another step in that direction.  I realize this is only a comment on the campaign trail and that Obama might not get elected, but ideas are powerful and they are floated in politics to gauge opposition and prepare the ground for change.  I am no genius, but I am a student of history.  Mark my words.

 

Since when did any society deem it advisable to send the nuturers of the next generation of society into bloody combat. Not that women have not been defenders of hearth and home when required, but is this really the social experiment that we want conducted with our women and daughters? I say absolutely not!

I did not wear the uniform so that my daughters could be drafted by an unthinking bunch of liberal jerks. If I have to, I'll put the damn uniform back on before I see my daughters, grand-daughters and their daughters be drafted into the military. This is maddening.

If there is any reason to vote against Obama and the Left, then this should provide notice.

I have serious questions about where this country is heading. We can't even get people to agree that the Constitution is the law of the land. Let alone agree on these grand social experiments.

Wake up! We must wake up!

Do we want hundreds of our women as POWs being subjected to the treatment that McCain received? Do we want the mother's of our children going through what the men on D-Day went through? I am not talking about 10's and 20's of women that choose this path, I'm am talking about sending women who have no desire for combat off to war. How stupid can we be? In all of our intellectual brilliance we've lost the ability to reason. We are so smart, we can't learn and can't reason forward.

 

My warnings will no doubt be dismissed in the most perjorative way, but a wise officer once told me, "How do you change an organization going the wrong way, one small turn of the wheel at a time and pretty soon you've turned the corner."  I believe this applies to nations, people, businesses, schools, etc.  One small turn of the wheel at a time.  Think about it.

I pray for our country and for us. God help us because we've lost our minds if we elect this fool. We may not know exactly what we'll get with McCain, but we certainly know what we'll get with Obama - tax increases, liberal social change, weak foreign policy, and a depressed economy leading to expanded government intervention in the economy.

You may want to go back and read 1 Samuel 8. The Israelites rejected God and called out for a king so they could be like all other nations. God told Samuel to tell the people what a king would do, but to go ahead and annoint a king, if they wanted one. I feel very strongly that we are doing the exact same thing today with this election. When people won't look carefully at the issues: taxes, abortion, social agenda, gay rights (marriage), a growing spirit of re-regulation, and as this link pointed out, the incorporation of over 50% of our 18 to 35 years old population into the "warrior" class, then we deserve the misery that is coming because we will have brought on ourselves.

I've included 1 Samuel 8 (The Message) below. I like The Message for contemporary readability. Please take a look at it and let me know what you think.


1 Samuel 8
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson



1 Samuel 8
Rejecting God as the King
1-3When Samuel got to be an old man, he set his sons up as judges in Israel. His firstborn son was named Joel, the name of his second, Abijah. They were assigned duty in Beersheba. But his sons didn't take after him; they were out for what they could get for themselves, taking bribes, corrupting justice. 
4-5 Fed up, all the elders of Israel got together and confronted Samuel at Ramah. They presented their case: "Look, you're an old man, and your sons aren't following in your footsteps. Here's what we want you to do: Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else." 

6 When Samuel heard their demand—"Give us a king to rule us!"—he was crushed. How awful! Samuel prayed to God. 

7-9 God answered Samuel, "Go ahead and do what they're asking. They are not rejecting you. They've rejected me as their King. From the day I brought them out of Egypt until this very day they've been behaving like this, leaving me for other gods. And now they're doing it to you. So let them have their own way. But warn them of what they're in for. Tell them the way kings operate, just what they're likely to get from a king." 

10-18 So Samuel told them, delivered God's warning to the people who were asking him to give them a king. He said, "This is the way the kind of king you're talking about operates. He'll take your sons and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry, regimented in battalions and squadrons. He'll put some to forced labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury. He'll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses and cooks. He'll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He'll tax your harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your prize workers and best animals he'll take for his own use. He'll lay a tax on your flocks and you'll end up no better than slaves. The day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this king you so much want for yourselves. But don't expect God to answer." 

19-20 But the people wouldn't listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We will have a king to rule us! Then we'll be just like all the other nations. Our king will rule us and lead us and fight our battles." 

21-22 Samuel took in what they said and rehearsed it with God. God told Samuel, "Do what they say. Make them a king." 



Have we learned nothing?  May God help us.

 

I sent this e-mail not to discourage, though it is somewhat discouraging, but rather to rally all good people to the defense of this country through the power of their educated, reasoned vote.  Share it as you see fit.

 

For love of country, family and God,

 

Joe Woody