There has been a lot of discussion about the opinion that even though we as a country are at war, it sometimes feels like we are not. Older people who lived through Vietnam are amazed that young people are not as involved with the war as they were during the 60s and 70s. They say there are many reasons for this phenomenon; young people today just do not care, they are too busy or the war does not affect us as much as it affected young people during Vietnam.

There is some truth to all the given reasons but the main reason that youth today is just not as passionate about the war is because it does not affect them as much as it did when their parents were young.

I would agree that young people today probably do not care as much about politics as they used to. It could be that young people believe there is really nothing they can contribute to politics or that it does not matter who gets into office, because both candidates are ultimately the same.

Young people are also busier than they were in the 60s and 70s. College is a full-time job and to pay for it takes almost a full-time job, which leaves very little time to focus on the news after going to class, working and doing homework. The world today is much faster paced, where events happen and things can change in an instant, which makes it more difficult to keep up on current events. However, the biggest reason that the war is not hitting as close to home as some may think is because of the draft.

During Vietnam, young people were being forced to fight a war that a majority of them did not agree with. They had to either go to war and risk their lives or risk being put in jail. Not very promising options either way. So what did young people do at that time? They rebelled and refused to do either and in turn turned on the government that forced them into these two options.

If you want the Iraq War to end, then the best way to do that is to reinstate the draft. The main reason is that if young people are forced to go to war or jail, I guarantee you they will angrily demand that the war come to an end. Eventually, the government will most likely be forced to reinstate the draft because the armed forces will need more soldiers to accomplish the so-called “goals” in the Middle East.

Now I understand that whoever reinstates the draft is committing political suicide because young people will not vote for that party for a long time, but I believe it is the quickest and most effective way to show Washington that the majority of the country and yes, even young people do not agree with the war.

It is clear that as long as Bush is the president, he will not take troops out of the country, whatever he thinks his reasons are. But the Democrats do not have enough votes to force a bill that mandates the troops leaving. So in the next year and a half, nothing will happen. And depending on who controls the White House and Congress after the 2008 election, maybe things will change.

And even though I do not support the war in Iraq, I think that if the draft was reinstated, it would end the war much quicker. There is already a backdoor draft happening now. The lower class is losing all of its jobs and is being forced to basically join the armed forces just to provide for their families. I am not saying there are not people from the middle or upper classes not fighting, but I guarantee you that a majority of the soldiers and the dead soldiers are not wealthy.

I am in favor of ending the war as quickly as possible and if it takes a radical move like reinstating the draft, maybe that is the best course of action.