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Point of view: It is 2020. Australian bushfires have wiped out the Outback, the coronavirus is spreading, Kobe has died in a helicopter crash and we are heading into World War III? It has been a terrible start to the year, if I have ever seen one. Are we really on the verge of another world war? According to the Twitter-sphere, the answer is consistently yes. What could that mean for the United States, and should you be worried about the draft?
Let us start with Iran. If you are like me, you might have failed geography and therefore are not familiar with the location of that country. Iran is located in the Republic of Asia and is just a bit smaller than the state of Alaska. Today, its population is a little bit over 83 million and yes, we are in a fictitious war with them.
How did this “war” start? On January 2, 2020, unbeknownst to many of President Trump’s cabinet members, Trump ordered a successful airstrike against Iranian commander, Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani led a group of Islamic revolutionaries. OK, so you are still asking that daunting question …why?
According to an official statement by the Pentagon (2020), “General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iran and throughout the region.” If Soleimani was indeed planning these attacks, Trump may have done a good thing, or so some Americans may think.
A few things happened after this attack: The U.S. embassy in Iran was bombed, and according to CNN, Iranians are on high alert, chanting “Death to America.” The answer is clear that, while not active, a war is imminent, but not in the ways you might think. Unfortunately, because the Iranian leader was killed on their soil, Iran will most likely endure all of the hardships of war, like economic turmoil and civilian death. For now, American citizens have nothing to worry about, right? Well, we don’t know. All of the U.S. forces in Iran have officially been named “terrorists.” And the scariest thing is, we can’t predict how this will turn out.
Are you really in jeopardy of being drafted? Not really. There has not been a military draft since Vietnam in 1973, thanks to our good friend President Richard Nixon. Also, only men are eligible to be drafted. Men are also the only ones who check a box for voluntary military service when receiving their licenses. And due to the non-eligibility for women, this only further demonstrates the inequality of the ‘70s and how it has not been resolved since then. In a story for The New York Times by Sarah Mervosh titled, ”Will There Be a Draft? Young People Worry After Military Strike,” ordering a draft would call for an amendment to the Constitution, making it unlikely.
A draft is just as fictitious as World War III, so why has it blown so out of proportion? Likely because the situation has put Americans in imminent danger in the Middle East. Dealing with the unknowns of what could happen has left many of us with questions about how to cope. So when we do not know the basic facts or the severity of a situation, we are left with the constant distraction of social media which often clouds our judgements.
Remember to inform yourself, read the facts and ignore social media comments. Odds are situations are not as scary as they may seem.
Sources:
Mervosh, S. (2020, January 3). Will There Be a Draft? Young People Worry After Military Strike. Retrieved January 31, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/us/military-draft-world-war-3.html
Iran Fast Facts. (2020, January 30). Retrieved January 31, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/03/world/meast/iran-fast-facts/index.html
Cohen, Z., Alkhshali, H., & Dewan, A. (2020, January 4). US drone strike ordered by Trump kills top Iranian commander in Baghdad. Retrieved January 31, 2020, from https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/02/middleeast/baghdad-airport-rockets/index.html
