Bashforth Fall 2009 Engl098 Page 1 of 2 Major Essay #3 PURPOSE:  Formulate a divisio by taking a position on whether the U.S. should reinstate the military draft.  Support your divisio with convincing evidence from research. (Course Reader main source)  Develop and organize the ideas in your confirmatio logically through exploration and revision.  Craft an effective refutatio, paying careful attention to tone.  Demonstrate your understanding of classical rhetoric and argumentative essay structure.  Consider your audience, and remember, while you may be writing to those who share your values (community, peers) you need to consider readers in other contexts. TEXTS AND OTHER MEDIA RESOURCES: 1. 155 SI Course Reader pp. 243-312 (Key readings: pp. 243-273) 2. Video screenings: TBA 3. Classroom “Debates”: TBA 4. Learning Logs, class discussions, etc. BACKGROUND: Having explored the rights, duties, and privileges of American citizens in our democratic society, we now turn to the right of the U.S. government to intervene in the lives of its citizen by summoning them to serve in the military – a particularly poignant, emotionally charged issue during wartime. We will analyze what it means to be a U. S. citizen, examining, evaluating, and expanding our ideas about what rights, duties, and privileges are allied with the notion of U.S. citizenship. We will rely on Martin Luther King, Jr. moving “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” in which he argues on moral grounds that citizens are justified and even obligated to resist their government if that government imposes unjust laws upon them (098CR 375-387). We will also see that many people who resisted the military draft during the Vietnam War made the very same argument, asserting that their government was forcing them to fight in an unjust war, so they were justified in denying the laws that required them to submit to the military draft. In a sense, the arguments about U.S. government actions in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, focus on the same basic question of the moral responsibility of citizens to disobey their government’s laws if they determine that those laws are immoral or unjust. But these discussions can become all too real when the government takes action that directly affects the lives of its citizens, as the military draft did during the Vietnam War. Americans who have never faced such a situation might wonder, “What would I do?” Of course, the corollary to that question is, am I willing to accept the consequences of my decision, which might mean, am I willing to go to jail as MLK, many Vietnam era protesters, and even Henry David Thoreau (best known for Walden) did in 1848 when he refused to pay his poll tax in protest of both slavery in the U.S. and the Mexican American War? ** For most Americans these arguments about government power and moral responsibility can seem abstract, yet on March 19, 2003 the possibility that some Americans would have to answer that question arose in the form of a war with Iraq. As of 5 pm PDT on 11/3/09, 4356 American soldiers have died and 31,545 have been wounded in that conflict.* If the United States were to continue to find itself in a protracted war – no longer with Iraq, but likely with Afghanistan or with any other nation – young men and women might eventually be subject to the military draft. They would, in effect, be asked to sacrifice their own safety and liberty for the sake of their government and other citizens.Bashforth ME#3 Page 2 of 2 What would you do in such a case? *** WRITING TASK: After reviewing and reflecting on the texts and other resources listed above, formulate your position on the question of the government’s authority to ask you to sacrifice your life for your country and respond to the question below in a well-reasoned, argumentative essay of 4 -5 pages. Should the U.S. government reinstate the draft? Why or why not? TO HELP YOU DEVELOP IDEAS FOR YOUR PAPER:  What is/are the controversy(ies) associated with this topic?  Under what circumstances do you think the government is justified in compelling young men and women to serve in the military and possibly go to war?  Were the issues surrounding military service discussed in your home or your friends’ homes when you were growing up? Did your friends’ families have different opinions from your family?  When is it acceptable for a government to ask you to sacrifice your health and maybe your life? When is it not acceptable?  To what extent are you justified in blatantly disobeying the laws that would require you to serve in the military?  On what moral or legal or philosophical grounds would you do so?  Do Americans have any special obligations to serve their country because of its history? In other words, how does your idea of America and being an American figure into your answers to these questions?  Are you able to construct your argument and present your counterargument in a way that your essay will take into account not only the audience who might agree with your position but allow those who may disagree to say, “this is an idea worth considering?” TIMELINE AND DUE DATES: ASSIGN: WED. NOV. 4TH (CALL FOR LRC APP’T. 677-2033) PEER REVIEW: Must be completed at LRC no later than THURS, NOV. 12TH (must be at least 3.5 -4 pages long) SECOND DRAFT: Due by email, THURSDAY , NOV. 19TH by 8AM THIRD DRAFT: Due by email, WEDNESDAY , NOV. 25TH BY 12 NOON (NB: PLEASE TRY TO MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE BY EMAIL DURING THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY JUST IN CASE . MUST BE 4-5 PGS. OVER THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY IN CASE YOUR ME3 NEEDS ATTENTION. PORTFOLIOS ARE EVALUATED THE FOLLOWING WEEK , SO THERE’S NOT MUCH WIGGLE ROOM. PAPER FORMAT AND REQUIREMENTS: Polished Draft and Final Draft must be 4-5 pages. See MLA Guidelines: Sample Docs 098 Handouts Page, Daly essay doc, link to MLA Formatting & Style Guide_OWL at Purdue See also Polished Draft and Final Draft of Major Essays (PDFs) and class website, Assignments page. CITE AT LEAST FOUR SOURCES FROM KEY READINGS IN 155SICR: (pp. 243-273). You may use Other Media Resources listed above as additional sources. ****Any sources not listed here will have to be vetted by me well in advance of their possible inclusion.**** http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/ ** http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?control=1050