The following is a letter that appeared in the Richmond Times Dispatch on June 24, 2003. What follows is a response written by me that was published on July 7. Editor, Times Dispatch: I was disgusted by the reaction of some of your readers when they compared "compulsory" national service to slavery and indentured servitude. What do these people expect from living in the most open and free country in the world? They object to service, taxes, speed limits, and rules of society. They object to doing something for the collective good. If they wish to live here, then service to the country is a form of "paying" rent. We enjoy a mostly safe place to live and breathe and play and we should also be willing to do something to ensure that. High school grads go on to college and in many cases they are still wet behind the ears. Would it not be good for them to work in government or other programs so that they can mature before going on to college or other work? Would it not be beneficial to them and to our society? In Israel all high school grads serve in the military and then go on to pursue their lives. They do not think of this as servitude or slavery - they consider it their duty. We should support Ross Mackenzie's campaign for universal national service and get on with doing our part for our beloved country. - Ike Koziol. Manakin. Editor, Times Dispatch: Ike Koziol’s visceral reaction of “disgust” to the comparison of compulsory service to slavery demonstrates the substitution of irrational emotional responses for logical thinking that is prevalent in the debate. Koziol feels that the price that must be paid for living in a free country is to give up a year (or more) of that freedom in order to serve for the “collective good.” But what good or “benefit to society” can possibly be achieved by violating the rights of certain members of that society (unless some are less equal than others)? Rights are inalienable, not a gift from the state. Should a high school senior with the selfish ambition to be a doctor be forced to defer his dream in order to empty bedpans at the local hospital instead of studying at a university? The best way to help today’s youth “mature” would be to let them know that they must pursue their dreams through hard work and voluntary trade with others. But in order for them to truly believe in this American dream, they must be assured that the government’s only interference will be to protect them from the initiation of force from others (including the government). Koziol uses Israel as an example of a place where youth believe in an altruistic duty to the collective. However, unlike Israel and every other nation in the history of the world, America was founded on the radical philosophy that the individual has the right to his own life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Governments are instituted to protect these rights, not to violate them. -Bob Murphy. Richmond