Bring back the draft

I ran across a deeply disturbing article in the NY Times by Thomas E. Ricks in the Opinion pages.  While I have seen at least two other commentaries I wanted to add my voice in opposition as well.  In the article Mr. Ricks calls for re-establishing a draft for those coming out of high school with the following three “choices”:

• 18 months of military service doing “paperwork, painting barracks, mowing lawns, driving generals around, and generally doing lower-skills tasks so professional soldiers don’t have to.”
• Civilian national service for a longer duration “teaching in low-income areas, cleaning parks, rebuilding crumbling infrastructure, or aiding the elderly.”
• Libertarians could opt out with the caveat of “no Medicare, no subsidized college loans and no mortgage guarantees.”

To be clear I am sure the libertarian option does not mean not having to pay in to these terrible government programs – if so I am sure the line would stretch for miles.  With regard to the other two “options:” conscription to forcibly make members of our society serve the government?

Perhaps I missed a joke.  Could someone truly advocate such a position?  Can someone really believe that the government can/should determine how young people spend 18 months of their lives?  What arrogance.

As a complete aside that ignores the moral implications to this evil idea, can you imagine the attitudes of those forced into these menial jobs?  We think governments are inefficient now, I can only imagine how inefficient it could become when staffed by a bunch of 18 year olds that don’t want to be there.  Would you leave your children with people who are forced into the job of offering “free universal day care?”  Run, don’t walk, away.

After reading the article it certainly seems to me that Mr. Ricks perhaps is not comfortable living in a (somewhat) free country, though at the ever increasing rate at which we are losing freedoms here in the U.S. perhaps Mr. Ricks will be comfortable here sooner rather than later.  Scary.