You don't hear much about it any more; it is usually whispered in dark corners. The mere mention of it sends shivers up and down the spines of politicians.

The military draft is a nonexistent consideration - and it was the Vietnam War that did that to us. There were too many loopholes and it was ultimately perceived as a class and racially structured system. Young people, especially, looked around and wondered why so many blacks and Latinos and the poor were the ones who were sent out to die by the thousands in the killing fields of another stupidly planned and unnecessary war.

Nothing riles people as much as the unfair administration of any system. I saw it as a teacher and administrator in high schools. The kids didn't mind tough as long as it was done evenly - they hated unfairness or discrimination. The whole military draft was rotten with unfairness.

The current stupid war should have been fought with at least a half-million troops, but one of the stumbling blocks was that we didn't have enough forces to put in the field unless we stripped troops from every station in the world, leaving ourselves vulnerable everywhere.

Is that silence I hear out there or a gathering of protesters? Throughout the Iraq war, I heard the "true patriots" condemning anyone who dared disagree with the war, but I haven't seen a corresponding surge by those same patriots lining up to serve their country by putting their lives on the line instead of their mouths.

In fact, I didn't even hear these "true patriots" putting their money where their mouth is to pay for their war, which will probably reach a trillion bucks by the time we are through. Our president has put the burden on our children. The patriotic thing to do, he says, is to spend our money on consumer goods - live it up.

We will pay for this in the future - long after he is gone from office. He has never asked the people to sacrifice anything except their civil liberties - and the "true patriots" didn't complain. But he did ram through tax relief for the rich.

It's time that we all face up to being real patriots. Instead of trying to impose a constitutional amendment to punish someone who desecrates the flag, let's pass an amendment making it a duty and obligation to serve our country - no loopholes - every man and woman must serve.

If they have mild disabilities they can serve in a nonfighting position. If they are religious conscientious objectors, they can serve in hospitals or the Peace Corps at military pay.

GI benefits, based on type and length of service, should be offered to everyone who serves in any capacity.

War profiteers should be punished. They should be stripped of all profits, heavily fined and sent to jail to serve serious time - no deals. Without the profit, I think you will find that war suddenly won't have the allure it once had.

Do I hear any whimpering and objections?

- Gene Vitamanti lives in Murrieta.