Monday, November 23, 1998
Vestiges of chivalry seen in war
MILITARY: Many women, men support equality but not women’s
conscription
I sat glued to my boob tube as news station after news station
propelled haunting, sensationalistic images and text onto the
screen that would have you believe World War III was just around
the corner. "Crisis in the Middle East: A Battle Resurrected." "The
Fight Against Time and the War Against Hussein." I never knew there
were so many ways of saying, "Saddam’s at it again."
As I watched, I also noticed our Army men marching in uniform,
preparing for possible combat. I saw our Navy men at sea and our
Air Force men in the sky. And I began to think: war has been and is
for men. Of course, women can now join (though, in proportion to
men, few do), but why shouldn’t women be drafted for combat to
serve, protect and die for this country like any of their male
cohorts? It seems that keeping women from the draft is one of the
few (yet enduring) acts of chivalry remaining in this country. In
light of feminism’s recent gains and society’s leveling of the
gender playing field, it is interestingly queer that such a value
should persist.
Perhaps there are two questions we should be asking: "Should
women be drafted?" – the moral question; and "Should women be
drafted?" – the social question. To the first, I will
philosophically reply that if women want to be recognized and truly
treated as equal citizens on par with men, in every realm, they
should be willing to fight to their death. After all, what makes
women worthier of life? Is it no more arbitrary if we were to
suddenly adopt a societal norm where only the blond-haired people
of this nation should be exempt from the draft? (Boy, they really
do have more fun, don’t they?)
Of course, proponents of female exemption, more likely from the
right wing, might argue that women are more delicate and more
worthy, in the sense that they are weaker beings whom society has a
responsibility to shelter from the horrors of war. And while I
don’t agree with this either, it’s not difficult to imagine where
the roots of such values lie, for they are embedded in our
history.
From ancient to medieval to relatively modern times, along with
the disadvantage of inferior status and limited rights, came the
fortunate dismissal of obligation from warfare.
Women were considered delicate, proper creatures. Furthermore,
it was believed that only females, weaned from day one to master
the private sphere, possessed the know-how and instinctual nature
needed to maintain the household while their husbands went off to
battle.
Meanwhile, the timid female inside of me wants to request
special treatment on this issue. Knowing myself as well as I do, I
could never see myself in a construction zone, much less a war
zone. Hell, I run willy-nilly at the sight of a centimeter-long
spider who, as we’ve all been taught, has every reason to be more
frightened of me than I of him.
Sure, when it comes to a verbal debate or a social cause, I’ll
stick my neck out and attack as scathingly as the next macho man,
and my bite makes Barq’s go flat. But put me in a war, and I’ll run
like a baby to his mother.
This is not right. This is not fair. But it’s true. I cannot and
will not speak for most women, but I would assume that a sizable
portion of us, including feminists, stop the equality train at a
dead halt when it comes to women being drafted.
Perhaps it is because this value remains so firm in society that
few have truly voiced the issue or brought it beyond that point.
And yet, why would they want to? If even well-meaning women were to
suggest such an idea, they would likely be ignored as "just another
extreme feminist faction" or castigated for being "butch" or
turning against their own kind.
If men were to suggest such an idea, they would be instantly
shot down. "How insensitive!" or "How cruel!" people would say.
"Would you send your wife into combat? Would you make your sister
suit up for guerrilla warfare?" (And here’s the killer: "Would you
let your daughter lie in the trenches and dodge bullets?") Folks,
we’ve struck gold, for within the above instances is the crux of
this societal value and the reason for its persisting strength.
Men, who have long run the world, have accepted most of the
advances in female equality, from the workplace to the dating arena
to politics. But ask a man to send his mother, sister or daughter
into war, and all of a sudden it’s a different story.
Of course, this is not to say that women and men alike don’t
have their hearts torn out over sending their brothers or sons to
war. This is not to say that males don’t oppose the draft, or that
they aren’t frightened out of their minds at the prospect of such
brutality.
Yet, men in this society are taught to be strong, to act strong
and never ever let them see you sweat; with women, it’s just the
opposite. Thus, we may simply expect that men can handle it … or
at least handle it better than women.
Furthermore, male chivalry is not entirely dead. Many men still
insist on opening doors for ladies or paying for a first date, and
many women don’t complain. Then again, the frequency of these
"old-fashioned" actions has substantially decreased in recent
decades. Some women now open doors for men and pay for first dates.
Maybe drafting women for war, in time, will become acceptable, too.
Then again, maybe not.
As much as women want equal footing, once those feet are planted
in war boots, it’s time to stop walking. I’m not saying it’s right.
I’m not saying it’s fair. But as a woman, I’m speaking from my gut
when I say that I ain’t going, no way, no how.
It pities me to even have to talk about such a gruesome topic as
war, for in my idealistic wonderland, I have always believed that
somehow our civilized nations, by now, would have ushered in a new
era – violence-free.
How sad it is when, to resolve our disputes, we must extend not
our hands but our fists … or, to be current, our nuclear
warheads.
And yet, confronting the obvious, we are faced with a moral
dilemma. Perhaps this issue is not considered a dilemma yet, but it
only takes one Saddam to snap, crackle and pop.
With the world’s technological capabilities, we have biological
warfare, nuclear holocausts and targeted missiles aimed right at us
– able to fly faster than a speeding bullet and reach entire
continents in a single bound. Some day soon, we may need the
strength of more than just the eligible, draftable men to protect
us. And girls, sewing a flag may not be enough.
Silver is a second-year communication studies student who loves
nothing more than imposing her views on others. She can be reached
(if you dare) at [email protected].
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