The thing is --- there's no draft.

I sympathize with Cindy Sheehen, the grieving mother who has been picketing outside the ranch of President Bush for some time now. Her son was killed in Iraq. And she is hurting. But last I checked, enlistment into the armed forces was strictly voluntary. Just the name ARMED FORCES should give any prospective enlistees a heads up that there is an element of danger involved. I've seen the enlistment papers. There are no promises of safety anywhere on them.

Just last week several hundred local reservists left for Iraq. I couldn't help but wonder how many of these men and women enlisted so that the government would pay for their education. Probably a lot. How many enlisted so that they could get that monthly check for one weekend a month and 2 weeks a summer out of their lives? Probably a lot. How many enlisted thinking that they would be headed off to a war, leaving their families - their newborn babies for 2 years? I doubt very many. What seemed like an easy way to have your college paid for has now turned into the possibility of their death on foreign soil.

Do I wish the war was over? Without a doubt. Do I wish it had never started? Absolutely. Do I pray for the safety of our soldiers? Several times a day. But it all boils down to for whatever reasons they had when they enlisted - the fact is that none of them were drafted. They enlisted - and with that decision, comes the possibility of war.

God, please end this war soon.