“slave (slav), n., v., slaved, slav ing. –n. 1. one who is the property of and wholly subject to another; a bond servant. 2. one entirely under the domination of some influence or person”
–Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language

So, I’ve been posting a lot lately about about the Universal National Service Act of 2003 (S. 89 and H.R. 163). It is a bill in Congress right now “to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.” In short, the act would reinstate the draft.

Now regardless of the political motivations for such an act, isn’t it a little ironic for a nation to claim to be fighting for freedom and democracy by enslaving its own population? Because that’s basically what a draft is. One who is drafted is forced to serve the government against his or her will. He or she is “wholly subject” and “entirely under the domination of” the United States government. Even in cases where one may be able to rationalize it, that is still what it is. We’re defending “freedom” using “slavery.” Think about that.

Of course, people don’t like to think of the draft as slavery. Slavery is such a nasty little word. It makes us uncomfortable. After all, if slavery was wrong then it should still be wrong now. It also provides something of a problem for the Universal National Service Act:

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
–Amendment XIII to the United States Constitution

Uh oh. Really, it’s kind of hard to think of a way in which dying in a swamp in Syria can not be considered “involuntary servitude.”