Government Slavery -- National Service is pure evil. Article by Ron Paul.

[Ronin Truth]

Government Slavery

National Service is pure evil. Article by Ron Paul.

National Service is Anti-Liberty and Un-American

By Ron Paul

Ron Paul Institute

October 21, 2014

Former Clinton Administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich recently called on the government to force young people to spend two years either “serving” in the military or performing some other type of government-directed “community service.” Neoconservative Senator John McCain has introduced legislation creating a mandatory national service program very similar to Reich’s proposal. It is not surprising that both a prominent progressive and a leading neocon would support mandatory national service, as this is an issue that has long united authoritarians on the left and right.

Proponents of national service claim that young people have a moral obligation to give something back to society. But giving the government power to decide our moral obligations is an invitation to totalitarianism.

Mandatory national service is not just anti-liberty, it is un-American. Whether or not they admit it, supporters of mandatory national service do not believe that individuals have “inalienable rights.” Instead, they believe that rights are gifts from the government, and, since government is the source of our rights, government can abridge or even take away those rights whenever Congress decides.

Mandatory national service also undermines private charitable institutions. In a free society, many people will give their time or money to service projects to help better their communities, working with religious or civic associations. But in a society with government-enforced national service, these associations are likely to become more reliant on government-supplied forced labor. They will then begin to tailor their programs to satisfy the demands of government bureaucrats instead of the needs of the community.

The very worst form of national service is, of course, the military draft, which forces young people to kill or be killed on government orders. The draft lowers the cost of an interventionist foreign policy because government need not compete with private employers for recruits. Anyone who refuses a draft notice runs the risk of being jailed, so government can provide lower pay and benefits to draftees than to volunteers.

As the burden of our hyper-interventionist foreign policy increases, it is increasingly likely that there will be serious attempts to reinstate the military draft. General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, continues to suggest that US troops on the ground may be needed to fight “Operation Inherent Resolve” in Iraq and Syria. A major escalation requiring a large US troop deployment will likely add pressure to consider a military draft.

The only real way the American people can protect their children from the military draft is to demand an end to the foreign policy that sees the US military as the solution to any and every problem — from ISIS to Ebola — anywhere in the world.

Some who share my opposition to a militaristic foreign policy support the draft because they think a draft will increase public opposition to war. However, the existence of a draft did not stop the American government from launching unconstitutional wars in Vietnam and Korea. While the draft did play a role in mobilizing political opposition to Vietnam, it took almost a decade and the death of thousands of American draftees for that opposition to reach critical mass.

It is baffling that conservatives who (properly) oppose raising taxes would support any form of national service, including the military draft. It is similarly baffling that liberals who oppose government interference with our personal lives would support mandatory national service. Mandatory national service is a totalitarian policy that should be rejected by all who value liberty.

See the Ron Paul File

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/10/r...nment-slavery/

Copyright © 2014 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are provided.

[KEEF]

Good article, I just wish he had put Manditory National Service in the title insead of just National Service. Otherwise at first glance it reads as someone who is just bashing troops to the average mundane reader that stops reading after the title.

[phill4paul]

I'll stand side by side with anyone refusing. With a firearm. were this to happen.

I honestly think the time has passed. They might get the younger kids to give them the power to steal from others so they might get some kind of welfare, but these kids aren't gonna allow a draft. They'll sit it out more than many did in the '60's.

[Christian Liberty]

Good article, I just wish he had put Manditory National Service in the title insead of just National Service. Otherwise at first glance it reads as someone who is just bashing troops to the average mundane reader that stops reading after the title.

Would that be such a bad thing?

I'll stand side by side with anyone refusing. With a firearm. were this to happen.

I honestly think the time has passed. They might get the younger kids to give them the power to steal from others so they might get some kind of welfare, but these kids aren't gonna allow a draft. They'll sit it out more than many did in the '60's.

I hope my generation won't tolerate it. I certainly will not go.

[Tywysog Cymru]

I still want to know whether or not Canada shelters draft-dodgers? I'm at an age where I could be drafted and I'd really rather go to Canada than Mexico.

[Ronin Truth]

I still want to know whether or not Canada shelters draft-dodgers? I'm at an age where I could be drafted and I'd really rather go to Canada than Mexico.

Google is your friend. www.google.com (Or some other search engine of your chosen preference.)

[tod evans]

I hope my generation won't tolerate it. I certainly will not go.

From what I know of your generation there's a lot fewer with backbone...

But my viewpoint is tainted.

[staerker]

From what I know of your generation there's a lot fewer with backbone...

But my viewpoint is tainted.

I would say there are *few with backbone. But looking at the world's present situation, it would be mighty generous to previous generations to say *fewer.

[Christian Liberty]

From what I know of your generation there's a lot fewer with backbone...

But my viewpoint is tainted.

Well, speaking for myself, I know I wouldn't go, and that I'd try to flee. But, I might allow myself to be arrested rather than to kill. So you might say I lack backbone as well.