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As a Canadian who served in the American army and in Viet Nam I have no problems with Draft Dodgers. They, for whatever their reasons, made a decision and stuck to it. To turn your back on your country is no small thing.
loyaleddie87 said:draft dodgers and deserters, all the same to me. u run when your country calls on u? those people dont deserve any respect from anyone, the second you run is the second some other poor kid takes your place. You get called up, u suck it up, become a man and take one for the team.
Two opinions. I'm biased towards the former and find myself shaking my head a bit at the naivety of the latter. Ed's eager and good to go, that's fine for him as he made a choice. The reason why conscription doesn't work is that the state makes the choice for the individual and that doesn't always mesh with that individuals plan, whatever it may be. Volunteer armies generally perform better due to the desire of the members to participate, it was their choice to join. Conscripts can and have fought very well in prior wars, but the belief in that war has to be factored in. WW2 vs. Vietnam, both conscripted armies for the US with very different outcomes. It has to be considered.
I especially appreciate the use of the words "poor kid", for all too often with the draft that is the targeted demographic. If the system in place was 100% impartial, then there would be less concern over the draft, but the loopholes abound and all too often you'll find a higher percentage of the lower classes involved; ce la vie eh. So as with everything in life, it isn't as simple as sucking it up and it sometimes takes more courage to decide to break with the pack than to join it. What exactly does it take to "become" a man? Who decides?
People who fled the draft are not the same as deserters... period. Are dodgers honourable people; maybe some are, maybe some aren't. That's an individual quality. It's simply two different things and they shouldn't be grouped together.