EDITOR’S NOTE: Evening Sun reporters love to argue. The sides taken in this argument were chosen arbitrarily and do not necessarily reflect the true opinions of the authors. This week, Tyler Murphy and Jessica Lewis discuss the reinstatement of the draft.

A long and sacred tradition in this country has been the willing participation of its citizens to become part of the armed forces. However, there have been great affronts to America’s efforts to endure the centuries. Wars, from the revolution to Vietnam, have forced our free and democratic society to place the burdens of civic duty upon those who did not volunteer – conscripts pulled up from the people randomly chosen from all walks of life to serve our nation in its hours of great need. In ancient Rome, the title of citizenship was earned and held in great esteem, as it was the duty of every citizen to die in order to preserve its republic. In fact only citizens were allowed to serve in her legions. Through the ages, the notion of a citizen’s obligation to fight or die for their nation, especially a free nation, remains a required duty. Today instead of conscription we call it the draft. The survival of our county’s ideals and institutions are more important than the survival of its citizens. We can not live in fear. If we as a people do indeed decide we are entering another dark hour of need, then it is our obligation to reluctantly reinstate that duty. –TDM

Just because something is part of a long tradition does not make it right. The ancient Romans also used to make gladiators do battle in the Coliseum for the amusement of the citizens. Would you like to see that tradition brought back as well? The truth of the matter is that reinstating the draft would weaken our military and the country as a whole. The cost of training and equipping the new recruits would cripple a military budget spread so thin, that in recent years, soldiers serving in Iraq were forced to purchase their own body armor or go without. The military does not have the resources to train the drafted soldiers, and prepare them for war. Furthermore, our country is divided enough without bringing back the separatism of the Vietnam era. We are already fighting a war that many Americans do not support. Reinstating the draft would only serve to further the divide, and increase people’s belief that the government has failed them. –JLL