Old Feelings

My mind took me back today. Back to a time when I was a youngster and a teenager. A time when our country was in a war that seemed to never want to end. My first thoughts were about the time when I became eligible for the draft. Yeah, we had to sign up those days. We went to the local selective service office and gave the personal information desired and a few weeks later you received your card. It carried a classification designation of your status. My initial one was 1H which was holding. I was still in high school and that was the usual classification. Later that year it was changed to 1A because I had graduated high school and was now in college. Even though the draft had expired there was still 2 years left that a lottery was drawn. Each January somewhere in DC a person would draw birth dates at random. Depending on the number your date was drawn determined the likely hood that you would drafted(if the draft was still active). My first number was 365 which meant that I was less likely. The following January my number was 007 which meant that I would have been on the next boat to "Nam".

I don't really know why I thought about that today, except maybe in the last couple of days military deaths in Iraq reached the 4000 mark. Sixty some odd Mississippians have died in the last five years. Their families buried 2 in the last 2 weeks. I don't know how each of these men and women felt going into harms way. Some appear to take it in stride others I know have to be very afraid. Knowing that, reminded me of my feelings back in the seventies. I remembered the fear I had of the possibility of being called to go to war. Sometimes, if I let it get to me, it would even be paralyzing. I never let anyone know my feelings for fear that I might be thought to be a coward. Fighting was not something I did very well even on the playground. I didn't know how I would have coped. Thankfully I never had to find out.

We don't have an active draft today, although I think that you still have to register. Our military today is all volunteer. They have chosen to be there. A lot, I think, never really thought we would again go to war. But, we have, and men and women are loosing their lives and are maimed in some way, some grossly. They face difficult situations differently. Some seem foolish because they face the dangers head on and somewhat recklessly. Others are more cautious. But they all face danger and it is real.

With all this said, we need to carefully consider who will be the new commander in chief. Two of the candidates seem to be concerned more about ending than winning. One has a mindset to win, then end. I lived through an ending with no winning attached. Our country has paid a price for that. We appear to be weak and that is dangerous. We can't afford that again. Our men and women deserve the very best leadership. Not flawless, but consistent leadership.