Readers get very, very uncomfortable when I start pushing for a return to the draft to make sure that all American families, including the ones who most vigorously support our wars and our military-industrial complex, share in the effort to safeguard the nation and its friends around the world. George Bush's war in Iraq does not directly affect as many Americans as did Kennedy-Johnson-Nixon's war in Vietnam. We have not had a draft since 1973. Because of this, the country is divided in a way we are only starting to appreciate. "The real `two Americas,' wrote Jacob Weisberg, the editor of Slate, "are not rich versus poor or religious versus secular but military versus civilian." He added, "There is not even a pretense of shared responsibility for defending the country." And so the war in Iraq continues. We don't like this war, and we want the troops home, but we're only willing to go so far with our efforts as citizens to make this happen. Not enough of us have a son or daughter in the fight. Even with manpower and resources stretched thin, the Bush administration really doesn't want to inconvenience anyone but military families; the president and vice president, the chicken hawks in chief, know that a draft would have further diminished support for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. With more Americans serving the country in the military, Congress might not be so compromising, and there would be a greater sense of urgency to reach a settlement. We have a new divide in America, highlighted by the war in Iraq. Where once the nation asked everyone to sacrifice in some way for a greater and verifiable good, we now send only those who have volunteered into battle, however dubious. Most of the rest of us have other things to do.

See the post below on a report on class and military recruiting.