Of politics and motherhood

Most people know that I'm a politics junkie.
With that preamble, I was reading an article about a bill that Chuck Rangel is planning on presenting in Congress after the Democrats take control of both chambers in January (not to imply that this bill is a Democratic thing, just to say that I think he's hedging his bets). The bill proposes to reinstate the draft.
Now, most people know that all men must register for the draft when they turn eighteen. Or at least that was how it was when I turned eighteen. Registration is already well accepted. But here's the catch to Rangel's bill: he wants to draft (not just register for the draft, but actually draft) all men AND women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. According to Rangel, if the military isn't your cup of tea, you can work in hospitals or schools.
I find this proposition insulting and demeaning on multitudes of levels.
First, where does Rangel get off thinking he can tell me what to do with my life in peacetime? I can see the need for government "interference" in people's lives in wartime-- rationing, drafting, etc. But I fail to see why this congressman thinks that he should be able to dictate the terms of anyone's life during peacetime.
Second, and more personally, why does this man think he can tell me that I may not stay home with my children? Granted, I'm twenty-five. Rangel's bill doesn't affect me. But if it had been law, and had my first child survived, it would have. The government should not be able to dictate a woman's choice to care for her children.

Okay, end of rant.