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In case you aren't from the U.S. and are unfamiliar, the United States Government requires all me to registered for the armed services when they turn 18 years old. They must register before they are 26 (you can read more here on their site).
What is Selective Service registration?
Registration is a way our government keeps a list of names of men from which to draw in case of a national emergency requiring rapid expansion of our Armed Forces. By registering all young men, the Selective Service ensures that a future draft will be fair and equitable.
I was thinking about this today as I watched one of those Army commercials. So I started doing a little reading. Here's what I've found.
If you do not register, you could be prosecuted and fined up to $250,000 and/or be put in jail for up to five years. Registration is also a requirement to qualify for Federal student aid, job training benefits, and most Federal employment.
Men, born after December 31, 1959, who aren't registered with Selective Service won't qualify for Federal student loans or grant programs. This includes Pell Grants, College Work Study, Guaranteed Student/Plus Loans, and National Direct Student Loans.
If you did not register with Selective Service, and are now a man over age 25, you may be ineligible for certain Federal or state programs and benefits, including U.S. citizenship.
Disabled men, clergymen, and men who believe themselves to be conscientiously opposed to war must register because there is no draft in effect, nor is there a program to classify men at this time.
Individuals who are born female and have a sex change are not required to register. U.S. citizens or immigrants who are born male and have a sex change are still required to register.
This is what stuck out for me. Women are not required to register. Yet, a man missing a leg or legally blind is required to register. And that females who are now males are not required but males that are now females are.
Anyhow, I was wondering how the men at VB here felt about this system. And how many men are registered or planning on registering. What about the women? Are you bothered by this at all? Would you register if required?
Selective Service System
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#2
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Posted 19 October 2003 - 10:35 AM
This reminds me of these pamphlets they had at a Unitarian Universalist church I used to go to. It was on pacifism, and if you are one, how important it is to document it and talk to people about it in case you need to prove it in the event of a draft. This might not keep you out of a war, but it could allow you to work in a helping area like medical care.
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#4
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Posted 19 October 2003 - 12:41 PM
i'm registered, and i'm pretty sure i needed to prove i was so that i could get my college scholarship too. that said, if i ever did get drafted for the armed forces, i would rather go to jail than join.
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#5
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Posted 19 October 2003 - 01:10 PM
I am registered because I needed college aid... and well it worked because my tuition was free. :D
If war ever came and I was drafted, I wouldn't fight. I would go as a medic probably.
Ruthie, I think that system is pretty fair. I do think that if males are required to register that it is only fair and modern for females to be required to register as well though.
Just because one is registered doesn't mean one will be drafted during a time of war, that's why I feel that it is fair that male's with sex changes register as well as people with disabilities and pacifists. It's across the board, no exceptions.
Once the draft started I'm sure they would start to make all sorts of objections. I wonder if they'd allow gay medics? :naughty:
If war ever came and I was drafted, I wouldn't fight. I would go as a medic probably.
Ruthie, I think that system is pretty fair. I do think that if males are required to register that it is only fair and modern for females to be required to register as well though.
Just because one is registered doesn't mean one will be drafted during a time of war, that's why I feel that it is fair that male's with sex changes register as well as people with disabilities and pacifists. It's across the board, no exceptions.
Once the draft started I'm sure they would start to make all sorts of objections. I wonder if they'd allow gay medics? :naughty:
Education taught me that it was a finer thing to be a Napoleon than to create a new potato. --Helen Keller
I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth, and I am a citizen of the world. --Eugene Debs
I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth, and I am a citizen of the world. --Eugene Debs
#7
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Posted 19 October 2003 - 01:54 PM
This post got me seriously upset for some reason. Oy...
Anyway it's annoying how a man who had a sex change is still required to register. It sounds like something out of the 40's just like MsRuthieB said. Although I must say that if I were ever required to register I'd rather go to jail than fight.
Anyway it's annoying how a man who had a sex change is still required to register. It sounds like something out of the 40's just like MsRuthieB said. Although I must say that if I were ever required to register I'd rather go to jail than fight.
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#8
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Posted 19 October 2003 - 03:17 PM
I would register to get college aid as well.
I wouldn't go to war when drafted. The only exception would be if it was a war aimed directly at my country and all of my friends would go there. I'd go - preferably as a medic - but I'd probably try to miss intentionally.
Reminds me of this anecdote (I don't know where I heard it and I don't know if it's correct):
WW1, Oxford.
Older woman: Young man, why aren't you fighting for civilisation?
Student: Madam, I am civilisation.
I wouldn't go to war when drafted. The only exception would be if it was a war aimed directly at my country and all of my friends would go there. I'd go - preferably as a medic - but I'd probably try to miss intentionally.
Reminds me of this anecdote (I don't know where I heard it and I don't know if it's correct):
WW1, Oxford.
Older woman: Young man, why aren't you fighting for civilisation?
Student: Madam, I am civilisation.
"An overly-detailed plan is an impediment to its own execution" -- RGC
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