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In a recent article published by investigative journalist Dave Lindorff on his substack ThisCantBeHappening! offers a forceful argument that the political detachment many Americans display toward war is rooted in the structure of modern military service itself. Writing against the backdrop of current debate over expanding U.S. military confrontation in the Middle East, Lindorff contends that the absence of compulsory service has insulated much of the public from the direct consequences of foreign policy, allowing large-scale military actions to proceed with limited domestic resistance.
Drawing on memories of the antiwar climate during the Vietnam War, the article contrasts an earlier period—when conscription made war an immediate household concern—with today’s environment, in which military conflict can feel distant even as enormous resources and destructive force are deployed abroad. Lindorff also revisits the era of Hugo Chávez and public reactions to U.S.–Latin American tensions as an example of a time when foreign policy controversies more visibly shaped everyday political behavior inside the United States.
At the center of the essay is a powerful claim: that universal conscription, however controversial, would create a broader democratic stake in decisions about war by ensuring that military policy carries personal consequences across social classes rather than remaining concentrated within a volunteer force drawn disproportionately from specific communities. Whether readers agree or disagree, the argument raises larger questions about militarism, citizenship, democratic accountability, and the social distance between decision-makers and those asked to bear the costs of conflict.
Read the article:
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