Letter to the Editor: We need a draft

So just some thoughts, folks, on how to solve one more crisis. We need a state draft to shore up the southern border with real troops. It shouldn’t be that hard to do with a legislature that will do whatever the governor wants them to do. We can always find the money to fix any crisis we come up with, such as shortening once again the time available for unemployment benefits, getting rid of the last remaining unions, especially teacher’s unions. There are all sorts of ways we can find the money to support a draft. Who needs a state auditor when we have a crisis: not necessary and besides he’s a democrat. Get rid of the position entirely.

Clearly, we need something more than just sending a few highway patrolmen and national guardsmen to the border with Mexico to solve this crisis of refugees who hope to come to the United States, the land of the free and the brave, so they can actually get a job and earn some money. We simply have to do something with a real edge to it.

As I said, what I suggest is we institute a state draft. Drafting people into the military has a long and illustrious history. Clearly it is something that would be acceptable to anyone not drafted, i.e. a majority of the people of the State of Iowa.

It would be good to know that we have a crisis on our hands and it’s being dealt with. I personally wasn’t aware of it nor affected by it, but if our governor says there’s a crisis, there must be one somewhere. After all, by simply saying there is a crisis there is obviously a crisis. I can’t believe our governor would just make something up like that.

So since we have declared a crisis, we must find a method by which to deal with it. Sending highway patrolmen and national guard personnel to the border is one way of helping but clearly insufficient. Since I am personally unaffected by the crisis — after all I don’t know any refugees, nor what they do when they get here, nor where they live when they get here — I will take the governor’s word for it: THAT WE ARE IN A CRISIS!

Personal experience does have some weight. I was drafted — way back in the Vietnam conflict. We are disposed to call it a conflict rather than a war these days since we don’t want to admit we got our butts kicked. Personally, I spent three and a half wonderful years on board a ship sitting in the harbor at Norfolk. It was a tender and for part of those three and a half years the ship was the U.S. Vulcan, the oldest, active ship in the U.S. Navy (at the time) which was eventually sold to Iran. It’s probably still floating around in the Persian Gulf full of Iranis who don’t like Americans even though they are in, afterall, an American-made ship.

So, I’m in favor of a draft to solve this proclaimed crisis. We need troops for this. As usual, we just need some critical thinking, some innovation. These are things we are good at, right? So, let’s do it.

Richard E. H. Phelps II

Mingo