It’s Time for the Draft, with a Twist

“‘They say the great equalizer is death, but bootcamp is a close second.'”

Americans have been thinking a lot about divorce lately—from each other. There is only one solution left if America wishes to avoid such catastrophe.

Let us admit first that separation—a topic which every American has been talking about in private but kept under wraps in public—was finally broached by The American Mind in November of last year. The anonymous writer, Rebecca, suggested that it was time for a special form of separation, a uniquely American divorce, the details of which are yet to be written. But should America not at least attempt counseling first?

Many will say the time for talk has passed. The Left attempts to suppress open discussion. The Right is exasperated by having valid concerns endlessly dismissed. This counseling session, if I may call it that, will need to be more than just talk.

Action must erase ideological differences and replace them with bonds of cohesion. A recommitment to the union appears likely to be forged in struggle, the way most hard lessons are learned. Luckily, there is an age-old solution that fits the bill somewhat better. Some have already proposed it. The prescription has worked in other countries, and only one institution in America—the United States military—can pull it off. I am talking about the draft (conscription).

Former soldier and novelist Elliot Ackerman argued in Time magazine in 2019, “A certain type of draft could…become a tool to promote greater equality…social cohesion [and] greater accountability between our policies and our population. In the era of the 1%, of hyperpartisanship, of identity politics and divisiveness, [it] could prove a powerful tool to counteract these corrosive forces.”