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"Uncle Sam Wants You," by Andrew J. Bacevich, Boston Globe, 28 March 2005, http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/03/28/uncle_sam_wants_you/.

American Leftism opposes freedom and supports compulsion. It supports compelling pharmacists to serve who the state wishes. It supports compelling doctors to treat who the state wishes. It supports compelling youths to kill who the state wishes.

Less privileged Americans -- people of color along with the sons and daughters of the working class -- picked up the slack. As a consequence, the military establishment that emerged by the 1990s as a preeminent symbol of revived national self-confidence and self-esteem was in no sense representative of American society. Its members came not from the suburbs but from the farm and the inner city, not from Harvard but from Prairie View A & M. Seldom acknowledged openly but tacitly understood by all, this ignoble arrangement figured prominently in easing the divisions that Vietnam had opened up at home.

According to President Bush, winning the global war on terror means that the United States must exert itself to spread the blessings of liberty around the world. If so, then those who enjoy a disproportionate share of freedom's blessings here at home ought to share in the sacrifices that such an enterprise necessarily entails. In that regard, plastering yellow-ribbon decals on the back of the family SUV or sporting ''Support Our Troops" jelly bracelets as fashion accessories just won't cut it.

Military service today is no longer a job opportunity to be coveted. Increasingly, it is becoming a trial to be endured. The immediate question posed by the crisis confronting the all-volunteer force is not whether to revive the draft. Instead the question is this: Will this democracy ensure that the burdens of war are distributed consistent with the principles of equity and justice?