Does Uncle Sam need me?

As I sat at home Sunday night, pretending to do homework, one of my roommates came down from his room bursting with excitement. He's a telecommunications major, so he loves TV, especially good TV, and he just saw a great show.\nIt was "Band of Brothers" on HBO. Anyway, during his little discussion about the show, he brought up a quote from the show that really stuck with me and hit close to home about thoughts in my head the past week. \nThe quote, he said, was "You think there's still hope. The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can function the way a soldier is supposed to function."\nThe quote, taken from a show about a group of World War II soldiers, needs no explanation. The point to all this is what is alluded to in the quote is something many of us might have to deal with. With the recent attack on the United States and elevation of Osama bin Laden to chief suspect in it all, there are continuing clues that we as a nation might be heading to war against bin Laden, Afghanistan the country harboring bin Laden, and any other terrorists in the world.\nWhile I agree with the necessity of a strike against whomever is responsible for last week's tragedy, all that it entails is pretty frightening. Being that I am mere months away from graduation, should the draft be instituted again, I would be a prime suspect for being called to go to war. Luckily, I'm not sure we will need the numbers to start the draft again, but that doesn't leave me safe and sound.\nSome vicious, gutless criminals attacked the United States, the country I've called home my whole life. Whatever his or her reasons may be, it was a brutal slap in the face to every single member of this country. So, the question facing us all is this; should I enlist in the armed forces and defend my country after this attack?\nI know there are some that believe war is the last way to solve this problem, and I know that there are others still who are wondering what's taking President George W. Bush so long to bomb these people back to the Stone Age. Despite all this, the question is one that has to pass through every one of our heads, if for only a second. For some of us, it won't take long to make the decision, defend my country no matter what. Others may think, let someone else do it. Then there are the rest of us, who are somewhere in the middle with no idea of what to do. That's where I fall.\nOn one hand, I like to think of myself as patriotic and I would step up for my country when it needs me. Then, another part of me wonders if that is something I really want to get myself into. We've all seen the madness at the beginning of "Saving Private Ryan", and from what news stories reported at the time, war is much crazier than that scene was or could even capture. \nWhat's the best decision for you? I can't tell you that, I don't think anyone else can. If you are lucky enough to know a veteran, maybe you should ask them for advice on the decision. The point is, this is a decision that will be hard for each of us, and what is right for one may not be right for someone else.