HagiaSophia:
I’m afraid I don’t quite understand - your post was for the purpose of asking others what they think - and now since they’ve told you, it’s militarist vitriol?
I think I’m a victim of my own naivete here. For that, I can only blame myself.
I came to this website soon after I discovered the Catholic Answers radio station in my area. I’d heard of Karl Keating, of course, and I’d found the radio programming insightful; not only that, but the apologists and hosts are invariably civil and respectful to the callers. I thought the same attitudes would be found on this website; I thought the type of people who were attracted to the Catholic Answers radio programming would be drawn to the website.
I also began this thread with some presumptions in mind. Maybe it would’ve helped if I spelled them out in more detail in my original thread, but, so it goes.
My belief is that the draft is generally not a good thing; it’s an abridgement of freedom. However, I do realize that it may be necessary under certain conditions (i.e., under the situation of a just war as laid out in Catholic doctrine).
Sending women into combat areras is deplorable. The goverment has no right to send women, who, generally, are physically weaker than men, into situattions where they are likely to be harmed my stronger males with an axes to grind (the enemy).
Almost as bad is sending mothers with small children at home on lengthy deployments far away from their children.
We as Catholics ought to be aware of the moral implications of this.
As a parent and a Catholic, I believe that at my particular judgement, I will be asked:
What did you do to physically and spiritually nurture the young immortal soul you were entrusted with?
I’m pretty sure I won’t be asked:
What did you do to help bring democracy to Iraq?
When I see ‘conservatives’ who don’t appear to be concerned about these things, but applaud when mothers in the military are forced inot these lengthy deployments, I ask myself:
If they’re not conserving the value of motherhood and its importance to the lives of the children, what in God’s name do they think they’re conserving?
I believe these are moral issues which Catholics will be forced to grapple with, should a draft return. The ease with which conservatives accept the status quo makes me fearful that if the draft returns, that women will also be taken.
If anyone disagrees with me on these issues, give reasons why. I thought my thread would help with some answers, but the rancor and namecalling tell me that it’s pretty much a lost cause.
In the short time I’ve been here, my motives have been impugned (“supports Bin Laden”; “supports suicide bombers”); my character assaulted (“selfish”; “coward”; “dangerous”; “unpatriotic”); my patriotism hijacked (“no right to be called an American”).
This is standard chat room stuff, and I’d hoped I’d found a site where that was frowned on.
I did not expect such a lack of charity on the Catholic Answers website. So, yes, militarist vitriol sounds accurate to me.
