Moral Equivalencies are neither

In 1906 (in this case a Wikipedia article snip is wrong and suggests he wrote it in 1910) William James penned an essay in which he suggested that we create a conscription for national service. He argued that we should create this so that "our gilded youths be drafted off, according to their choice, to get the childishness knocked out of them, and to come back into society with healthier sympathies and soberer ideas." It was a lousy idea then and just as bad a one today.

In 2001 , soon after 9/11 John McCain,in the Washington Monthly said "What is lacking today is not a need for patriotic service, nor a willingness to serve, but the opportunity. Indeed, one of the curious truths of our era is that while opportunities to serve ourselves have exploded---with ever-expanding choices of what to buy, where to eat, what to read, watch, or listen to---opportunities to spend some time serving our country have narrowed." The idea of a compulsory national service surfaces periodically among political candidates. Both Obama and Clinton also support expansions of national service, albeit a bit less mandatorily.

When I first read the James essay I was struck with how patronizing it is. I am still struck by anyone who suggests that you somehow create a national identity by forcing people to serve. It was a lousy idea in James' time and is still a lousy idea now.