If there’s no draft, why register people automatically?
Starting in December in the US, eligible men ages eighteen to twenty-five will be automatically registered for the draft via a new automatic draft registration system. This move is part of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
While automatically registering these men is not the same as actually drafting them, them having all their names placed on a list that is for no other purpose than military service thoroughly creeps me out.
Would Trump bring back the draft?
When asked in 2024 about bringing back the draft, President Trump called it “a ridiculous idea.”
Now it seems that the White House has changed their tune, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt stating in March that Trump “does not remove options off of the table,” but also that a draft is “not part of the plan right now.”
I mean, if you’re not going to have a draft, why bother shifting the responsibility of registering for it from individual people to a computer? I’m skeptical that a president who has already involved us in multiple foreign wars wouldn’t at least consider making the draft “part of the plan.”
Is the automatic registration a good idea?
At least automatic registration might help young men avoid penalties for failing to register, like large fines or, in the case of immigrants, a loss of citizenship.
But if a young man has to register for the draft himself, he has some knowledge that it’s happening. Having people auto-registered within 30 days of their eighteenth birthday seems like a way of slyly getting people to agree to military service without really having any concept of what military service is or how it would affect ones’ life.
Serving in the military is a serious thing! If young people are automatically going to be signed up, maybe they should at least get some education about what it would mean to actually serve.
We can object
I was taught from a young age by my Mom to repeat the phrase “conscientious objector,” in case a draft were ever established for women. That’s what I’ll say if it ever happens to me, but I wonder how many of these young men who are being auto-registered for a draft that ostensibly doesn’t exist yet will be educated about having the option to say “no” to going to war?
Military service in the US has been voluntary since 1973, and I certainly hope that it stays that way. If the draft is ever brought back, I anticipate that a lot of people will protest.
The number of people registered as conscientious objectors has already increased since Operation Epic Fury began in Iran.
“They’re scared of the long-term moral consequences of their actions in this moment right now,” said Iraq war veteran Mike Prysner, of soldiers who don’t want to return to combat. Prysner claimed to have talked to dozens of soldiers who submitted conscientious objector claims, some of them doing so with just hours to go before their deployment.
In order to be a conscientious objector, you must have a consistent moral objection to war in general, not just specific wars, and you must be able to provide a written statement about how you arrived at your beliefs. If you’re a young man and that sounds like you, you might want to take the time to register.
You never know what’s going to happen in the future. If you’re opposed to war, make sure your name is on the right list.
Esoteric Epistemology 