Mandatory Volunteers???

[W. Gray]

See below where men (but not women) still have to register with the Selective Service System.

I do not believe nowadays there is much ado if one does not register but with some state governments and the federal government you have to prove that you registered if you are applying for a job.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/defenseandsecurity/a/draftreg.htm

Back in the days of the Kansas State Militia, the county clerks were required to forward the names of every able bodied male in the county from 18, or so, up to age of 40, or so, to the state adjutant general for service, if it might be required.

This was in case of a massive state emergency.

In most cases, the call for militia went out for volunteers and men responded.

There was a Kansas State Militia case in which the governor put out a call for volunteers; 1,300 men responded; and the governor resigned to take command. This was not during the Civil War but was in 1868 when General Custer needed help in Indian Territory.

[dnalexander]

Selective Service Quick Facts

QUICK FACTS AND FIGURES

Registration compliance (calendar year 2007)
Men 18 to 25 years old who have registered: 91 percent. Men 20 to 25 years old who have registered (draft eligible): 95 percent. Number of names and addresses on file for men 18 to 25 years old: Over 14 million.

Agency Budget (FY 2008)                                         
$22,000,000 

[Varmit]

I don't agree with the draft.  Our armed forces are made up of volunteers, people not forced to be there.  Personally, I think that every able bodied male should serve at least 2 years, I did 6, but they should not be forced to.  As for providing our young people some "excitment" in their "dull lives"?  Who gets to decide what "dull" is?  Being shot at, I can assure you is not excitment.

[Wilma]

Who said anything about excitement?  I am talking about giving them a purpose like I used to have.  Chores to do when I got home from school,  a paper route to take care of and if we were lucky we could manage to listen to Jack Armstrong before it was time to go get the cows, the evening meal around the table with the whole family present.  Those things don't exist for everyone so they turn to the streets.  A job that pays is much preferred to hanging out for nothing.

[Varmit]

Today we face an entirely different situation, but still our young people need a purpose.  Without purpose, they turn to the elements that will provide excitement in their dull lives.-wilma


Actually, you did.  Kids don't turn to the streets because they have nothing to do, they turn to the streets due to poor parenting. I don't think there is anything wrong with chores, family  dinners, etc.  My problem is with forced charity or community service, whatever you want to call it. 

[Wilma]

OK, the kids around here have a purpose.  But what about the kids in the big cities who have no place to go except an empty house, because Dad doesn't live there and Mom is trying to work two jobs to keep the kids together.  The kids can't work because there is a child labor law.  They turn to the street or bring the street into the house with them.  The pattern is set.  When they are old enough to hold a job, they are into something entirely different.  If they know there is something that they can turn to instead, that provides them with enough money to get by on and teaches them a skill at the same time, maybe they wouldn't stay on the street.

[Diane Amberg]

We have after school programs, the PAL programs, scouting, 4-H, New Castle County Parks and Rec. programs, Newark Parks and Rec. and so on. And yes, some are"forced" When N.C.C. has their Easter Egg Hunt and Ice Cream Festival the employees are expected to sign up to help. If not you better have a good excuse, or you aren't a "team player" and that could affect a promotion down the road. Ah yes, politics at it's best. Nobody can say they were forced, but ya better if you know what's good for ya!

[dnalexander]

OK, the kids around here have a purpose.  But what about the kids in the big cities who have no place to go except an empty house, because Dad doesn't live there and Mom is trying to work two jobs to keep the kids together.  The kids can't work because there is a child labor law.  They turn to the street or bring the street into the house with them.  The pattern is set.  When they are old enough to hold a job, they are into something entirely different.  If they know there is something that they can turn to instead, that provides them with enough money to get by on and teaches them a skill at the same time, maybe they wouldn't stay on the street.

Wilma what purpose do the kids of Elk County have that can't be found in the big cities? Last year I set up a crime database for my local PD using the FBI Uniform Crime data For fun I compared Howard\Elk County to my city of Belmont, CA located in one of the largest metropolitan areas of the country. The violent crime and property crimes  per capita were surprisingly similar. I had expected Elk County\Howard to be much lower. Both places were significantly below the National avg. in violent crime and had basically the same percent of property crimes as the National avg.

As to what Billy said about it being bad parenting, I agree. Not that there are not some aspects of daily life that many find it hard to reconcile how to raise their kids.

While their are differences between big cities and small rural towns, having lived in both, I will say that all the things that Wilma mentioned I can find examples of it in both places.

It comes down to good parenting being the solution.

David

[Wilma]

I think the parents in a small community have a better chance to be good parents, simply because everybody knows where the kids are and what they are doing.  I hear there are some things going on around here that shouldn't but being a recluse, I don't hear much and never who.  With Janet out of town, I hear even less, not that she ever told me anything anyway.  She had an answer for when I asked about things that were none of my business.  "That is Sheriff s--t, Mother."

I know there are lots of programs for keeping young people off the streets, but who sees that they participate?  Why are there so many unsupervised kids?  Even here, there are cars going too fast, things like the mailbox damage that happened some time back, kids that are driving around in the wee hours of the morning and noise on the street that keeps an old lady from sleeping.  Why there should be engine revving at 2:00 in the morning, I will never know.  Of course, I never did any of these things. 

[Varmit]

Kids in the city aren't that much different than city kids.  You have loud music, just different types.  Kids in cities may have easier access to drugs, while county kids have an easier time getting alcohol.  You still have single parents in both settings.  I think that where small town parents have an advantage is usually the mantality (sp?) of the community.  Small towns generally alot more "grit" and alot less entitlement ways of thinking.  They don't have as much access to welfare programs so they have to make due and work.  Children see this and learn from it.  again, Root Cause, you have to start in the home.