Merriam-Webster has thirteen categories for the definition of draft....anything from a bank statement....to a way to serve beer....to a preliminary sketch....to the workload of a horse. We tend to use the word draft in a negative way as it pertains to a current of air. No one likes to sit where there is a draft. On a positive note to some...it is a good time when our professional team has its draft....but what about when the definition pertains to the same college athletes drafted somewhere else?
I always hesitate to do a post on a military draft.....conscription....because no one wants to read about the possibility.....but I've done it a number of times in the past....under the title....Greetings....You Are Hereby....and here is another one.
If the world heads to war....which at this time is a probability....there will most likely be a draft reinstituted in the United States. The elephant in the room is what that draft would look like.
The ages drafted will probably be 18 to 26.....to start out anyway. So who gets drafted? As of today there will be no college deferments beyond finishing out the draftee's present semester. That is a big change....and is related to the above mention of college and professional sports.
Will there be another lottery....as when the big day comes....and the young men who have registered look to see where their birthday is in the draft....'Number 1....oh well....number 365....whew'!
Women have a relatively equal representation in the workforce today. So the young man gets drafted....but the woman stays in her job. How would that go over?
How would the 'trans' issues be handled? Would transitioning from male to female be an exemption? How about female to male?
My cot was the closest to the door. The light was turned on....and I went flying across the floor....as the drill sergeant yanked upwards on the end of the cot. Welcome to basic training! Eight weeks later I would have walked on burning coals for that drill sergeant. Can we even challenge young men today?
How on earth are they going to navigate the question of immigrants? When I was in Basic Training one of my best new friends....Andre....was right off the boat....so to speak...from Poland....and proud to wear those greens. (I still have the photo of us at graduation)
What about vaccinations? During the pandemic we conservatives took the side of those in the military who didn't want the vaccine. Is that the way that we are now? Would the mess halls have to offer vegan meals?
On previous military draft posts I've added something of the nature of the following:
Did you volunteer....to be a Christian? Or were you drafted? The general consensus in the church....today....is that one chooses to be a Christian....they choose to believe. It took me ten years to find out that it was the opposite.....that God drafts....or elects. I'm not going to go into that here....for there is a whole library out there for anyone interested. I will say that one of the chief objections to the doctrine of 'election' is that....if God elects who He wants....why would we even want to evangelize? Well....think of me what you want....but after fourteen years of these posts....it would be hard to accuse me of not trying to reach people for Christ. And you might want to consider how so many of the famous missionaries of the past....names that you are so familiar with....also believed that God elects?
So again....Greetings....you have been drafted into a different kind of army. There is still a basic training....which for most takes years....I think it was about ten years for me. Here's your draft letter....."The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.".....but if you do show up....that draft notice will be the greatest letter you ever received! There is no peace time in this army....and one is only sent to the rear for short periods of R&R. There are casualties....KIAs....taken to heaven....and many wounded...but no MIAs. There is constant battle fatigue....and even shell shock at times....but your Commander in Chief tell us...."Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God." If there is no flak around you....then you are not in the battle. As I posted four years ago on the same topic...."This army is poorly trained right now....malnourished without Christ and His cross preached....with few good leaders....but Christ is mounted....with myriads of powerful angels holding their steeds back until the word is given. There will be no flotilla of boats taking us away....instead a power from on high giving us all that is necessary to hold on....and even advance....as a winnowing will separate a ragtag army into a smaller but growing one that [trusts in] it's commander-in-chief....knowing that victory is already won.
Note on the above portion of this post: You may not be interested at all in what would happen if the draft was reinstituted....but I'll tell you of two people who are very interested....Vladimir Putin....and Xi Jinping.
