Mr. Madison's Present

Should women be allowed in combat?

Article 1:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/debate/index.asp?article=0905

Summary: This article states that women should be allowed in combat. They state this because they believe that the position that the women hold should be based on skill not gender. There are about 350,000 women in the military, and about 30,000 are in Afganistan and Iraq fighting alongside the men. They are handicapping the military in a way that they are taking the women out of infantry units, when the military needs all the people that it can get. They believe that not allowing the women to fight is the will of the public and not the womens proven abilities.

Questioning the Author:
Why was this policy created in the first place?
What happened to all born equal?

Concernes:
Will women coming into the military cause disgruntled men?

Article 2:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/debate/index.asp?article=0905


Summary: This article states that women should not be allowed in the military. It believes this because there is physical differences like strength. She also believes that in combat, the soldiers have to carry 50 to 100 pounds of equiptment. They believe that that will be much too heavy for a women. They also are concered about the medical leaves like pregnancy. They also claim that there are differences in the women's training because they have a different amount of stength then the men.

Questioning the Author:
What if the women gain stength and can carry that weight?
What if you slowly ease the women's training into matching the mens?

Concernes:
This is cutting people from going ou and fighting for our country.

How would I solve this?
I would solve this by only allowing the women that had earned it join an infantry unit. I would do this because if they can prove that they are just as good as the men, and gain strength and make it that specified distance with a heavy pack, then they should be allowed to join. I believe that it is kind of generalizing stating that no girl can ever compare to a boy. Because, girls can do anything boys can if they set their mind to it.

How does this affect me as a citizen?
This affects me as a citizen because someday, a carrer that I might want to persue would be to fight in the military. That would affect me because if I enroll into the military, I will most likely get turned down because of my lack of Y chromosomes. And that would be dissapointing going through all that to be rejected because of your gender. There is nothing making you different from anyone else. What happened to everyone is created equal.

How does this connect to unit of study?
This connects to the unit we have just studied because we learned about our previous military, and how women were not allowed to fight back in the day either. Old habits die hard I guess.

How will I make a difference?
I will make a difference by spreading the word that it is unfair women cannot fight alongside the men. Also, I will attempt to get many people to send letters to Center for Military Readiness stating that the military cannot be compleatly ready if it lacks numbers. Hence, making them consider adding women to the infantry units.