So, it’s almost 5 in the morning here and I’ve been up since 1 thinking. The other day, one of the college professors was talking about current events. I don’t remember his exact wordage, but he inquired about our (I go all-women’s college, so you can assume that the majority of the people in the room were biologically female) willingness for the draft and called for us to raise our hands.
Some of us raised our hands (I’m willing to admit that I was one of them) to indicate our willingness, and some of us did not to indicate their unwillingness.
And, since I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and congress had decided to exclude women from being forced to sign up for the draft.
I can understand why people do not want females to join the draft. We’ve been housed in a society that has evolved from the tendency to believe that women are both the gatherers and nurturers of a family, that males are the hunters and are physically (usually) stronger and have the need to protect. They have the idea that women are psychologically incapable of going into war. According to some studies, women have a tendency to be more susceptible to psychological changes than men are. Women, usually, are slower at gaining muscle mass.
And are these disadvantages? Sure. I can even agree that, at this very moment in time, I cannot imagine some of my female friends joining the army in any capacity.
However, this does not dissuade me from my own choice.
To give a bit of background so that people can know exactly where I am coming from: I am female. I have seven brothers. I come from a blended family, but I am the oldest of my biological brothers. I go to all-women’s college by choice. I am an independent, but I voted for Trump. I make average grades in college. I am the most responsible child in my family. A good deal of the older men in my family have served in the military, so I have seen the effects of PTSD and have had family members not return alive from a tour.
Now, I have talked at length with my family about my opinion. Some of them understand it and others are completely against it, but their opinions do not change mine: I wouldn’t have said not to women being drafted.
First of all, I do not believe that, if given proper physical training, a woman is weaker than a man. Women have the privilege of being allowed to become the weaker sex because of societal norms, however, I have met many a woman who are just strong as a man who goes through the exact same physical regimen and diet.
Do I think physical strength is mostly based on size? Yes. Am I 5′2″? Yes. Have I met other men who are 5′2″ that could take me in a fight? No. I have a black belt in taekwando and have trained in wrestling and keep up a health diet and maintain consistent exercise. I have bested and been bested by men in my weight class. Have I also bested men bigger and taller and heavier than men who had the intention of hurting me? Yes.
Second of all, morally, I do not think it is fair that, in our modern society where we tote that women are (or should be) equal to men, we ignore just over half of our country’s population in times of war. If there is a need to protect our country, I think we should all have to divide the risk equally.
If there was a draft, all of my brothers (save for the youngest, who would be 14 by Jan. 1, 2018) would be eligible and I certainly do not believe that is even remotely fair that they should have to shoulder the danger of war alone. I am their sister and I am a part of their family. I want to protect them just as much as I want to protect them. I love them and I would take a bullet for them if a burglar came into our home.
Thirdly, and most importantly, I am most certainly scared. I don’t want to be in a war, but that isn’t because I am a female - it’s because I am afraid of dying. But I’m more afraid of the potential of the eradication of my family in the case of losing than my own death.
Fourth and finally, I don’t think that just because a few people cannot handle the psychological rigors of war that we should exclude an entire portion of our country’s population from fighting. We draft men who are psychologically susceptible to PTSD and depression and the like and only discharge the after they have proven that are a threat to themselves and other people, so why are excluding females based off that principle?
I’m open to feed back and I am willing to acknowledge others views on the matter. Feel free to agree or disagree, I won’t be offended. Your feelings are valid.
