It’s been a while, but Dan Rodricks has once again pulled out his call for a return to involuntary servitude. The thing is so silly that I’m not even going to bother quoting it.
Of course this is not the first time that Rodricks trots out the idea of forced servitude, though his call for compulsory military service is different than his November 2006 call for mandatory volunteerism, or his May 2006 for forced “national service.” And as usual, he glosses over the 13th Amendment conundrum.
Still, I always get a funny feeling when somebody in the “mainstream” media calls for a return to this kind of serfdom, because let’s face it, there is no real benefit to the kind of compulsory service thatRodricks demands. There is absolutely no need for it, no desire for it, and it will do nothing for our country other than to force more and more able bodied citizens into positions where they are doing the bidding of the government. Such a cockamamie scheme takes money and jobs out of the economy and will negatively impact the education of our next generation.
Besides, if Rodricks wants folks to serve so bad….he can volunteer to go first.
