[blacpete]

In September of 1940, Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act which required men between the ages of 18 and 45 to register with local draft boards. This Act, in my opinion, does a great disservice to our nation which allegedly advocates gender egalitarianism. The fact that men are the only individuals required to register obviously excludes women from upholding their duty as United States citizens and disables their movement towards equality. I believe women should be required and given the right to register with the Selective Service which will provide our nation with able bodied individuals that may be called to arms in the event of conscription.

Many people propose that women are physiologically inferior to men and therefore their contribution toward the war effort should be limited. This way of thinking is uninspiring and truly misogynistic because there are many duties within the armed forces that do not rely solely on a soldier’s physical prowess. Nevertheless, there are many women who are very elite physiologically and could undoubtedly embarrass some of the toughest men not only in sports, but also in actual hand to hand combat. Of course, while it would be difficult for the military to look for and recruit such skillful ladies, there are many positions that women could fulfill besides ground combat, so if they were to be drafted, the argument of strength would not necessarily be an issue.

The opposition of child bearing responsibilities is also a topic of interest. Upon questioning a woman if she believed everyone should be required to register with the Selective Service, she stated, “We give birth to the military boys, are we not doing our service enough?” To this I will counter with an undeniable no, because to make such a statement not only lessens the male role in co-creation but it also weakens the woman back down to an image they have been running from for centuries. In addition, the issue of needing women to stay behind to raise a family is of great concern but, I feel this should not hinder one from registering for the selective service. For example, if someone with a child was chosen for the draft, it should be dealt with on a case by case basis taking into consideration if the father was also selected. Lastly, it is noted that men have been fighting for centuries so let them continue to fight. While it may be true that men have been on the frontlines for centuries, dapper women are rapidly accepting roles that are bringing them into closer contact with the enemy.
The reason why I feel women should be required to register is because they are enlisting at a higher rate than ever before and they still only represent less than twenty percent of the armed services. There is not enough presence of women and in case of an emergency the Selective Service will be able to call upon the trustworthy individuals who, out of patriotism, upheld their duty and registered. With this amendment in place our nation’s resources will be strengthened, making the US an indomitable power. With women filling positions that they are qualified and prepared for, the military will be using all of its assets properly. The amount of assistance which needs to be fulfilled is immeasurable. Women’s roles in the military have changed over the decades from only being allowed positions as clerks and nurses to today when we have women flying combat missions and firing antiaircraft guns. The female representation needs to increase and a required registration will allow for that to occur.
Women have long since decided that they are on the same playing field with men and I truly believe that they can and should be treated as such. The women’s liberation movement and advancement of individual freedoms and rights in the United States has opened up many fields and opportunities for women that did not exist before. I know that our country is creating very strong and intelligent women that may better fill positions that are given to reluctant men. There are many positions where strength does not matter. What matters most is equality. Women want to do what men have been doing, so we should allow them to do it. This in turn will free up more men to cover the frontlines and ground combat that without doubt can only be handled by the strongest men. “We are only as strong as our weakest link,” is a phrase that is taught in the military and it basically means a unit must understand its weaknesses and use it to their advantage. However, I am not implying that women are our weakness. In the event of a search and rescue mission where the weight is of extreme importance, it would behoove the unit to dispatch the smallest of the crew which in most cases would be the woman. Therefore we use an amalgamation of our differences to get the best job done. Women want equal rights and I strongly agree in giving them equal responsibilities because I strongly believe that they can handle it.
We now have a female running for the Presidency which is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States. With this new trend of women ascending to positions never before held, I feel changing the law concerning women registering with the Selective Services is trivial and should be dealt with immediately. Many people will bring up the issue of a woman leading the military when women do not even have to enlist in the event of a draft. They will consider the original act to be a ludicrous injunction and marvel at our country’s hypocrisy. With the way our world is changing and our thoughts on certain issues are evolving, I wouldn’t doubt that it would take a female president, with a pro-feminist mindset, to allow for such a progressive change in Congress.
A Selective Service Act that included women would make them more politically active and aware of war issues because now they too have the responsibility of our nation’s security on their shoulders. At the nubile age of eighteen they will be faced with the decision to do what is right and register into a system that, if there is a draft, might select them to become soldiers of the armed forces without even volunteering to do so. That is a scary revelation that even men have not been able to deal with. There will be many women who will try to finagle their way out of the registration process just as men have done in the past. Women will truly understand the fear men face during times of conscription, not just as the nurturer anymore, but also as the conscripted. The thought of leaving friends and family behind to get involved in a fight one has no control over is frightening indeed. Hopefully, this will change the way our government feels about rushing off to war because now our young men’s lives are not the only ones in jeopardy.
During this month I challenged many people male as well as female and I was surprised to find only slight opposition to a topic that I personally find to be very controversial. I was able to retrieve many opinions and yet only one stood out the most. Many of our women are indeed proactive and, yes, they do deserve to be a part of the bigger picture. Raising our children is a dual effort of both mother and father in today’s society, and I believe fighting for our country’s freedom should be as well. I have a mother, two sisters, and a daughter so my reasons for feeling this way are not intended to bash women, instead I am truly in support of liberal feminism. Being required to register with the Selective Service, ladies and gentlemen, in my opinion, is just as important, as the right to vote. Women fought for this right not only because they wanted to vote, but because they wanted to be part of the grand scale of things. Not all women as we know even exercise this right as they should, but they do have equal choice in the matter and I, with many others, feel it is time for them to have equal responsibility. Do you?