By federal law, all male citizens of this country must register with the Selective Service within thirty days of their eighteenth birthday. Failure to register is a felony.
The hands in this photo belong to Shaggy Hair Boy, who turned eighteen in January. He wrote on his registration card: "I am opposed to war in all forms." Then he signed it, made a photocopy of it, and sent it in.
15 comments:
Sounds like he's informed - smart man. More info on protecting his conscientious objector status is here - looks like a good site.
http://www.centeronconscience.org/objection/mildraft.shtml
The draft was always one of those things I was willing to break the law over - I have no qualms about smuggling any man I care about over the border if need be.
At least he got to sign a form. My boys never signed one. Our state automatically signs you up when you get a driver's license.
I've been talking to the Kid off and on about being a conscientious objector. Not sure what he will do; he doesn't turn 18 until November.
I wouldn't object to national service if one could choose what sort of service it was, but I am adamantly opposed to a military draft.
Good for Shaggy Hair Boy.
i am amazed that we still have a selective service requirement for males. i would think we'd have gotten rid of it altogether or made it non gender-specific.
did you know that male students are not eligible for federal financial aid if they don't register? i hate laws that tie unrelated things together.
good for him on registering his opinion.
Snowman did his recently. He didn't realize there were ways to begin showing conscientious objector status. Glad to know that.
Good for him. I didn't even know you had this - I've had to google to see what it was. Sounds like one of those things they tell you to do because "you'll never get called on". Hmmm.
good for him. and good he kept a photocopy.
my son delayed in filling out his registration when he turned 18. they were pretty aggressive in threatening him with prosecution -- but they lost his form TWICE.
Woo hoo! Good job, kid.
In this state you're registered automatically. I can remember comparing the multi-colored notices with classmates in the spring of 2006, when we got ours.
My father always said that if there were a draft, he wouldn't send his sons to die for Bush.
He told us he'd take us out of the country and that if we tried to serve he'd kidnap us and forcibly transport us across the border.
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When I was in college, I got a letter telling me that "according to [their] records, you are a man who has not registered". I had to wonder which records, since I am not a man. My friends with gender-ambiguous names (including a "lynn") also got the letter.
When I was eighteen, I did the same thing: I didn't think women should be left out of a draft, but I had also been in the peace movement, canvassing for nuclear disarmament, for a year. So I registered but indicated my intention to be a conscientious objector.
I was a pretty self-righteous eighteen, but that's not gonna surprise you.
awesome photo...as well as an awesome kid.
My hubby is military. He serves for many reasons, and I won't hog up your comments with that. And I signed up for it, too, thinking it would pay for college, long ago and far away.
Years ago, before the Bosnia conflict, with a husband who could very well be sent into harm's way, some people in grad school said to me "We have to do something." I said "who is we?" because we is usually me.. well, people I love. So I hate war. I hate it with a passion of people who will actually lose a part of their soul should anything ever actually come to real, hard core violence which would cause a draft.
But. But. I agree. If our young men are required to "register" (which I don't agree with in times of comparative peace-- it should always be choice until there's not a choice) then I think young women should also be required to register. The sexism and other issues within the whole selective service crap is crazy, wrong.
I am glad to see your shaggy haired boy registering his objection. For the record, my military husband completely agrees with him. War in all forms is wrong.
Way to raise that kid, Jo(e)! I have to say that, with my son's current fixation on army men, I may not be so lucky.
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