More on Pat Tillman

AOL-J guru John Scalzi has been on the Pat Tillman story, the pro football start who volunteered for the Army and was killed in combat in Afghanistan.

In Another Look at Pat Tillman in his By the Way... blog, he calls attention to a story about Tillman's memorial service, which was somewhat surprising to many.

At this non-AOL blog Whatever, he has quite an interesting take on a controversial cartoon about Tillman by Ted Rall.  Rall sounds like the kind of guy you'd want to have around if you thought the local white supremacist group was going to try to break up the community meeting you've organized.

At least now that the Freepers have Rall to foam at the mouth about, they'll probably forget about that music grad student they were freaking out about a few days ago.

But it strikes me that bot the grad student and Rall are stretching to fit Tillman into an image he doesn't deserve.  Because in a strange way both their blasts at Tillman are signs of the beginning national debate over resumption of military conscription, aka, the draft:  Draft unlikely soon but hot topic now San Francisco Chronicle 05/02/04.

Because when Bush and Rummy reinstate the draft people, some unpleasant questions will come up for people subject to it - ages 19-34, both sexes, if the Selective Service's acting director's current recommendation is accepted.  That means Britney Spears could get drafted, just like Elvis Presley did in the 1950s.

But if you genuinely believe that the Afghan and/or Iraq War is wrong, is it a moral choice to allow yourself to be drafted knowing you could be required to fight and kill and risk your own life and health in one of them?  The issues of resistance by soldiers in uniform to the Iraq War, in the form of desertions or refusal to accept duty there hasn't gotten banner headlines, though some of it is going on.

Of course, there will never be a shortage of people to say, "The only reason people resist the draft is not because they think war is wrong.  It's because they're afraid to fight!"  Count on it:  99% of those saying that will be people who are ineligible for the draft themselves.

It also won't be a frequently heard complaint from parents of college-age teenagers either.  And even the verbal Ramboes may find it a little hard to fit that into their world views when their daughters or sisters become subject to the draft.

(On a different topic, Scalzi on his Whatever blog allows himself somewhat more colorful expression at times than perhaps he does on AOL-J, as in this post where he tells some racist blankety-blankety what he thinks of his attitude.)