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As you may be aware, the House recently held a vote on a bill to reintroduce the draft.
That bill was introduced some months back by Rep. Charles Rangel of New York. His purpose in doing so was to remind voters (and the member of Congress) that the burdon of defending this nation is not shouldered equitably. The armed forces are peopled disproportionately with minorities and others who have not enjoyed the full benefits we associate with the American Dream.
As Michael Moore pointed out in FARENHEIT 9/11, looking at the two houses of Congress combined, only one member has a son or daughter serving overseas. As has long been true, the sons and daughters of the elite (in both parties) easily avoid hazardous military service, even in times of war. (Of course, in his day, John Kerry refused to take advantage of his station in life and not only volunteered to serve in Vietnam but to take on some of the most hazardous duty there was -- but I digress.)
So Rep. Rangel put forth a bill that would require all young people -- rich and poor -- to serve their country. He did so to make a point.
And the Republican leadership put it to a vote last week to make a point, too: They want us to believe that they are adamant against the reinstitution of the draft. We can't now know for sure if they're sincere or not, but I'm not willing to bet my nieces and nephews' lives on it. Given the bellicose ways of our unduly appointed misleader, additional manpower is going to have come from somewhere, should Dubya be reappointed.
The whole thing was a dog-and-pony show meant only to make a (false) point.
But during the debate preceding the vote, a little-known representative from the 17th congressional district in Ohio, one Tim Ryan, rose to make one of the most succinctly eloquent condemnations of the current regime I've heard to date.
In short, he freaking nailed it.
You can read the text of the brief speech here. But, really, you should make the effort to watch the streaming video of it here.
You'll need Windows Media Player to view the clip, and it's divided into two segments. The first is only 22 seconds long, and when it ends, be patient -- the second segment will automatically begin playing soon thereafter, though it may take a few seconds depending on your connection speed. Take my word for it, it's worth the wait.
Posted by brett at 03:54 PM | TrackBack