Keep them Away from Honorable Men

A quick post for the "what's this country coming to" file...

First, some background:  Last November, two small towns in northern California - Arcata and Eureka passed voter-approved measures that would restrict military recruitment activities within city limits. Specifically, recruiters are prohibited from having any contact with young people under the age of 18 in the course of their recruiting duties.

The measure was initiated by a former Arcata city councilman David Meserve. He gathered the over 1400 signatures that put the measure on the ballot.  It apparently wasn't too difficult - In his city, the initiative passed by a vote of 73 percent.

There was a time in this country when three quarters of the population would have happily supported military recruiting. And while that may still be the case in many parts of our vast and diverse nation, much of California seems to be becoming more and more hostile to it.

In early 2008, the city of Berkley "invited" military recruiters to leave their city, and later that year the board of education in San Francisco tried to banish JROTC from their schools because of the military's stand on gays serving openly.

Now this. I called Mr. Meserve to ask him what led him to do such a thing in the first place. As he related a story about seeing a recruiter talking with three girls in a coffee shop and being angered by it, he told me that, while not a veteran himself, Mr. Meserve is a member of "Veterans for Peace," - a group of activist peaceniks best known for getting themselves arrested for disrupting congressional hearings (about 30 minutes in).

I listened as Mr. Meserve went on about the dangers of allowing recruiters access to anyone under 18, the duty of parents to safeguard their children, and the right of the individual states (counties, towns, etc) to legislate as they please. 

But a severe contradiction struck me.

It came when Mr. Meserve pointed out that the United States ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which agreed to an optional protocol that obligated it not to "conscript or enlist children" or allow them to engage in armed conflict.

Which is true, except that as I read the protocol, it does not apply here because the U.S. military doesn't conscript anyone, and won't accept enlistments below the age of 18 without parental consent.

Maybe Arcata, Calif., reads it differently. But the contradiction I notice is that, on one hand they are asserting the "state's rights" argument, while on the other claiming that U.S. federal law should be subjugated to a body of policy formed by the United Nations.

Either way, it's not likely the initiative will stand up to legal challenges being brought by the U.S. government, though Mr. Meserve claims they will appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.

In my personal opinion, recruiters have one of the most difficult jobs in the military. My experience in and among the men and women of our Armed Forces has me convinced they are the most noble, honorable Americans I've ever known. They give the best years of their young lives to free the opressed and protect the vulnerable around the world.

Heaven forbid America's youth might be exposed to such selflessness, generosity and personal courage.

If the people of Arcata and Eureka, Calif. want to be free of the horrors of their children being exposed to military recruiters, perhaps they should consider moving approximately 700 miles north - to Canada.

There are no U.S. military recruiters there.