Here's the key section from Goldberg's response, which I want to analyze:
I have a problem with compulsory military service if compulsory military service isn't needed at a time of war. ... You know, the draft is a bad thing. It has a lot of benefits -- don't get me wrong. ... The draft is ... an incredible ... it is very comparable to slavery. And in some ways, it's worse than slavery, insofar as you're forcing people to kill other people and be killed. Now, it's an evil, but it's a necessary evil sometimes.Here's the video, which includes more of the context (the above quote is from the end of this clip):
When I first heard this, my immediate thought was: "Well, he's clearly right about that -- so right it's almost boring. Forcing someone to fight in a war and possibly kill or be killed is obviously worse than forcing someone to do more mundane labor, even though they're both bad."
But then I noticed that I have the following set of beliefs, which are so extremely common and mundane that I'd be surprised if you, reader, didn't share them:
1. Slavery is always immoral.
2. The draft is usually immoral, but sometimes a good idea. For instance, I would be against the United States having the draft right now, but I think it was worth having the draft during World War II.
But don't points 1 and 2 imply that the draft isn't as bad as slavery? Doesn't that blatantly contradict my agreement with Jonah Goldberg's point?
On the other hand, it's seems like the apparent contradiction can be resolved. All you have to do is acknowledge that liberty is not an absolute right, but a relative value that can be trumped by more important values. Or, to put it another way, you'd need to have not an absolute rule against infringing people's liberty, but a general rule that's subject to exceptions based on specific circumstances, e.g. the overriding need to stop the Nazis from taking over the world. Right?
Bonus question: How many made-up words does Goldberg use in that clip? I count two.
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