Draft Dodging: Difference between revisions
Removed and replaced needless and missleading conflation of two entirely seperate things, as well as updating something that was well out of date.
(Removed and replaced needless and missleading conflation of two entirely seperate things, as well as updating something that was well out of date.) |
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Possible ways to dodge:
# Claim you're too sick. Maybe all you need for this option is a note by your doctor; but you may also go through some pain, which can go as far as self-mutilation.
# Pretend to be crazy.
# Commit a lesser crime.
# Move away (For Americans, this often meant [[Canada]]; for [[West Germany]], there was the option of West Berlin, since men living there were exempted from the draft for complicated legal reasons).
# Earlier forms of military conscriptions, e. g. that in France during the Revolutionary and [[Napoleonic Wars]] and that in the US during the [[American Civil War]], offered a legal way to avoid the draft that no longer exists: hire a substitute to serve in your place. Of course only the more affluent could take advantage of that option, especially when a war wore on and the casualty rates rose, causing the fees men asked to serve as substitutes to rise considerably.
# Declare yourself a "[[wikipedia:Conscientious objector|conscientious objector]]" and convince a military tribunal that you're [[Actual Pacifist|objecting for ideological reasons]] (easier for members of certain religions, such as Quakers). There is a very chequered history of countries (a) allowing you the right to do this (although it's in the UN's [[The Laws and Customs of War|Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]) and (b) actually abiding by it if they do. Some objectors agree (or are required) to serve as [[The Medic]], as stretcher bearers, or in other non-combatant roles.
# Act / openly claim you're gay. This generally only applies to historical works, as such prohibitions are now either gone or carry [[Destination Defenestration|penalties worse than being drafted]]. Even in historical settings, this may have other repercussions.
# Claim to be a woman. Historical drafts, as well as [[Israelis With Infrared Missiles|most]] modern ones, applied only to men and there are historical examples of men claiming to be female for this purpose. Improved government record keeping makes this unlikely to work anymore. The inverse of [[Sweet Polly Oliver|a female character claiming to be male to serve in war]].
This is a trope that may become a [[Dead Horse Trope]] in the next few decades, as more and more western states abolish conscription. There is still draft registration in the United States, but it is so politically unacceptable that the laws regarding registration are not enforced.<ref>The "Selective Service" system requires all eligible males between the ages of 18-25 to register for the draft. Failure to do so is punishable, but few, if any, are ever punished. Resident aliens, on the other hand, ''must'' register or face deportation, and this ''is'' enforced</ref><ref>There's also the argument that the US military ''prefers'' an all-volunteer army, as the quality of troops tends to be much higher when the troops ''want'' to be there</ref> Whether American conscription is ever revived is debatable. The US has proven it can fight protracted wars without conscription, but the full impact of this has yet to be seen and a future war with higher casualties may force the draft to be revived.
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