Denny Burk on Women in Combat

In case you missed it, you should read Denny Burk’s post on the lifting of the ban on women being on the front lines of combat. Here’s a taste:

Are the fortunes of women in our country really enhanced by sending them to be ground up in the discipline of a combat unit and possibly to be killed or maimed in war? Is there a father in America who would under any circumstance risk having his daughter shot or killed in battle? Is there a single husband in this country who thinks it okay for his wife to risk being captured by our enemies? To risk becoming a prisoner of war? Is this the kind of people we want to be? Perhaps this is the kind of people we already are. I would sooner cut off my arm than allow such a thing with my own wife and daughters. Why would I ever support allowing someone else’s to do the same? Why would anyone?

What kind of a society puts its women on the front lines to risk what only men should be called on to risk? In countries ravaged by war, we consider it a tragedy when the battle comes to the backyards of women and children. Why would we thrust our own wives and daughters into that horror? My own instinct is to keep them as far from it as possible. Perhaps this move makes sense with an all volunteer force, but what if the draft is ever reinstituted? Are we really going to be the kind of people who press our wives and daughters to fight in combat?

You should read the whole thing (not least for the Piper quote).

In response to the post, a local news channel interviewed Dr. Burk, and you can watch that here:

WDRB 41 Louisville – News, Weather, Sports Community

(may need to click through)

I would not want my wife or daughter on the front lines. This strikes me as naive, cruel, and foolish. If they want to call this progress, it’s progress in the wrong direction: toward darkness not light.

Don’t miss Denny’s related, book, What Is the Meaning of Sex? By the way, I think you should go to the amazon page for this book and hit the “like” button.