The end of the draft : a proposal for abolishing conscription and for a volunteer army, for popular resistance to militarism and the restoration of individual freedom PDF
Preview The end of the draft : a proposal for abolishing conscription and for a volunteer army, for popular resistance to militarism and the restoration of individual freedom
TheEnd (>f the Draft Proposals for •Abolishing Conscription ■AVolunteerArmy •Restoring Individual Freedom • Popular Resistance to Militarism Prefaces bv Senators Mark O. Hatfield and George McGovern THOMAS REEVES KARL HESS A VINTAGE BOOK V-644 | $1.95 The End of the Draft h’l V1NTAGE BOOKS A Division of Random House New York Prefaces by SERRTOR R1RRH 0. HRTFIELD & SERRTOR GEORGE IRtGOUERR A proposal for abolishing conscription and for a volunteer army, for'popular resistance to militarism and the restoration of individual freedom THOmnS REEVES and RRRL HE55 first vintage books edition, October 1970 Copyright © 1970 by National Council to Repeal the Draft All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published by Random House, Inc., in 1970. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 78-117688 Manufactured in the United States of America by The Colonial Press, Inc. Clinton, Massachusetts For GUN ILL A and LIZ and for GREGG ROGERS, whose death brought the war home Dcknoujledgments Tom Reeves and Karl Hess thank Stewart Kemp, economist for the Gates Commission, for his thorough research in chapter 8. Fielding McGehee has given many hours to research and rewriting. His persevering consultation, espe cially on foreign policy and military dissent, has been very helpful. Thanks are also due to Richard Cohen, Hally Monta gue, Josephine Lee Davis, Leigh Larsen, Katherine Lowndes Darby, Martha Adams, Linda Gubala, and Jim Hall. The research was made possible by the Na tional Council to Repeal the Draft, 101 D St., S.E., Washing ton, D.C. The Council takes no responsibility for content. Prefaces The draft has been with us for nearly thirty years, the first decade of which was in response to World War II and its immediate aftermath. The last two decades, however, mark the first time in our history that there has been peacetime conscription in America. It is a poignant commentary on this country that until the late sixties, there was very little negative reaction to the draft from public officials, intellectuals, parents, or youth. Initiated by criticizing United States policy in Vietnam, anti-draft activity is now a self-sustaining effort—focusing on conscription’s inherent inequities, injustices and ineffi ciencies—as well as focusing upon one aspect of a greater problem within our society: the military-industrial-political- educational complex. It is necessary to understand the draft from these two perspectives to fully grasp its iniquitous and debilitating effects on our country. Having been through the stages of apathy-fear, problem Preface • x discernment and definition, and critical analysis, we are now at a fourth stage: constructive solution. Vietnam has been the instigator of this process of increasing concern and has led to the heightened examination of our government’s pol icies and national priorities. Karl Hess and Tom Reeves, with Stuart Kemp, have done an excellent job not only in stating the case against the draft but also in offering many suggestions as to how to regain our balance domestically and internationally. For, as they point out, merely abolishing peacetime conscription and establishing a volunteer military does not solve the problems we face: it is a key to the door, a first step. They take us through the inequities inherent within the draft, set a philosophical framework, analyze the Or well’an document of the Selective Service System’s memo on chan neling, point to the contextual framework surrounding the draft, and propose steps which should be taken to re-estab lish and reorganize our national priorities in accordance with our Constitution and, a seemingly forgotten document, the Declaration of Independence. It is interesting to note that while one may disagree with some, if not all, of the suggestions for change or for imple menting change made by the authors, many of the proposals are already realities. For instance, non-violent obstruction ist tactics and parallel institutions, such as those in educa tion and in Congress (for example, Members of Congress for Peace through Law), are already developing and will continue to flourish until currently dysfunctional institu tions are either revitalized, replaced, or abolished. The problem of popular control of the government and its agencies is really the theme of this book. The authors firmly believe that the government and its extensions should be responsible and responsive to the people, not the reverse. I commend this book to anyone interested in the issues Preface ■ x i surrounding the draft and the revolution we face in our so ciety today. The analysis of our country’s current crisis is very perceptive, and while I may not agree with every one of the authors’ suggestions for implementing change, the proposals they make and the attitude they present are repre sentative of a much needed revitalized faith in the future of the United States, its institution, its leaders, and in our selves. Mark O. Hatfield
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