by Mutha

Created on: February 07, 2009

It would be easy to say that women should be expected to register for the draft because they expect to be treated equally. However, this thought ignores rationality. Even during times of war, the country continues to exist. Food must be produced, children must be cared for and educated, and industry must be sustained. If women were to go off to war, who would take care of the homefront?

Strength at home is necessary before we can expect to defend our country. What is the point of defending our country if we can not even maintain our way of life that we defend. By way of life I don't mean that every family should have a big screen television, every game system on the market, and drive a gas guzzling SUV. Our children need at least one parent to care for them and they need to be educated, our elderly need to be cared for, and our sick need medical care. We still need food, homes, and utilities.

During World War II the role of women changed in society. Not only were women serving the country by providing medical care to inured soldiers, but they took on many of the jobs at home that men had traditionally fulfilled. While the men were away at war, women helped maintain the country. If women are expected to register for the draft and go off to war, who will fill the void created in the workforce at home?

As it is, the military requires that all families have a means to care for their children if they are deployed or away for training. A single parent or a family with both parents enlisted in the military must designate a care provider for their children before they can enlist in the military. It would not be possible for all parents to designate a suitable care provider for their children, these parents are not permitted to enter the military. Even with women entering the military, the importance of family is still recognized and protected.

The role of women in our society has changed a lot since WWII. It is not uncommon for mothers to work and in some situations men stay home with the children. We have not changed so much that we are gender blind. Women are still not offered equal pay and do not enjoy equal opportunities. It is still not entirely accepted for a man to take on the role of a homemaker. Even if we do reach a point where women and men have equal roles in the workforce as well as in the family, nature is not so quick to change.

Women's bodies are equipped to have children. The typical male is physically stronger than the typical woman. Each gender has its own natural strengths and weaknesses. Until our society finds another means of deciding who should go off to war, men are the natural choice.

The military defends our country and our way of life. Regardless of how we feel about how the military is utilized, we can not allow the structure of our nation to suffer so greatly as it would if our young women were expected to go to war. We can not allow our country to deteriorate on the homefront to defend from afar.

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