Chinese proverb and where have all the good men gone?

I recall an ancient Chinese proverb as I drove past a Chinese restaurant and an army recruiting station today: "Just as one does not use good metal to make nails, one does not use good men to make soldiers." Or at least one does not use daughers and sons of rich people or politicians.

On January 7th 2003, Harlem Representative Charles Rangel (NY) and 14 other Democrats (mostly from the black caucus), sponsored legislation attempting to bring back the draft. Rangel said in a statement:

I truly believe that decision-makers who support war would more readily feel the pain of conflict and appreciate the sacrifice of those on the front lines if their children were there, too. I don't make too much of the fact that only four members of the 107th Congress, which voted overwhelmingly in favor of war with Iraq, had children in the military.

http://www.neoperspectives.com/draft.htm

I tend to agree, if we reinstituted a real draft where EVERYBODY had to serve, including sons and daughters of powerful and elite politicians and rich men and women, the powers that be might be less inclined to get into imperial adventures. Unless you are completely physically disabled or clinically insane, there would be no reason why your ass couldn't be shipped to Baghdad. If the president is truly committed to defeating terrorism around the globe, an impossible task, then he should put all of the resources into the fight, including rationing iPods and PS3s (they have useful electronic components that could be used for military purposes), selling warbonds to buy armor for Humvees (I'm sure they can get a famous country singer to help out), and pressing all young people into uniform (including the Bush twins and Lindsay Lohan). We'll spare Paris Hilton because she'll probably drive a Stryker through an outhouse or something. Whatever happened to that American "can-do" attitude that gave aid to Ethiopia? Look at them now, now even Ethiopia can invade other countries and kick ass (see Somalian ass kicking for reference).