>>>Of course, we already knew your anti-War protest is really about the results of the 2000 election, rather than world peace.<<<
Bill, I didn't run to Canada, I didn't avoid the draft. When all of my friends went to Woodstock that same week I reported for induction. However, knowing I was going to be drafted, I requested non-combatant status so that I wouldn't have to kill anyone, and thinking I could serve my country in a non-combatant role.
Since my early school years, I've always felt ciitzens owe a debt to their country. And I still believe this! Still, however, the nature of this duty has to be rooted in morality, not in death and destruction of other people. Yes, it is moral to defend one's country if one's country is threatened and lives are in danger. It is immoral to resort to war when no such threat exists and hundreds of thousands of people get killed in the process. And so Vietnam.
After trying to both serve my country and serve my conscience, I eventually requested a discharge from the military as a conscientious objector. In an environment where few military people understood me (including the chaplain who claimed angels carried swords and believed in war) I ended up going to jail in the steadfastness of my belief.
After a year of service, I eventually succeeded in getting an honorable discharge, as a conscientious objector. Upon my release I worked for several years as a counselor with veterans, helping folks out, those who deeply suffered from the effects of the Vietnam War.
Bill, do not, because you cannot reasonably do so, question my position for peace.
Indeed, I have complaints about Bush's behavior in office, just as I have complaints about how he behaved during the Florida recount controversy. I trust Bush's administration about as much as I trusted the Nixon administration. And we all know how that one crumbled. I predict Bush's will see a similar fate, especially if it continues to lie in order to promulgate an unnecessary and what I believe future historians will deem an immoral war upon Iraq. |
