Day 50 - A Light in the Darkness

While on leave, one fantastic experience I had was to personally visit the Center on Conscience & War (CCW) in Washington, D.C. Although I didn't make my request until May, I first decided to apply as a conscientious objector in March 2009. Only days after having made my decision, I called CCW's GI Rights Hotline (1-800-379-2679)

From then until now, the staff at CCW have truly been my greatest resource. They've counseled hundreds of others through this same process and have provided me with expert professional advice, while at the same time always being empathetic to my specific circumstances and how I'm feeling. I truly enjoyed meeting each of the staff, as well as hearing their own stories of how they came to believe that all war is immoral.

I happily assume that the Investigating Officer (and other military members) are still reading my blog, so I'd like to take the chance to better answer one of the questions I was asked during the hearing, especially as it relates to CCW.

IO: Which natural rights advocate follows, if any, follows to your conclusion?

Me: Off the top of my head I could only cite my, what I believe as my own beliefs, I know of no individual or group that advocates explicitly in accordance with every single facet of my beliefs.

IO: I’m not talking every single facet. I’m specifically talking to war itself. Any, are there any natural rights philosophers, advocates that you’ve read, that have come to your conclusion that war in any form is immoral?

Me: Off the top of my head right now, I could not quote any individual or organization that I know of that would, that makes that specific statement. I certainly believe that there do exist such people slash organizations, I can’t think of one off the top of my head that has that as their explicit statement of belief.

Where I got caught up was in trying to think of someone or some group that used the same line of reasoning to reach my same conclusion. Although I think there are persons that even meet that criteria (Stefan Molyneux and Wes Bertrand for starters), I didn't want to try and explain who they were, and I admittedly had only discovered them after coming to my own conclusions, unlike the philosophers that I had referenced in my application as being influential in getting me to that point.

Since this forum allows me a kind of mulligan, I would now more broadly answer the question that as far as people or organizations who have come to my same conclusion (albeit some of them for different reasons), CCW is the best answer I could possibly give. It's an organization that has existed since 1940 for the purpose of "stopping war one soldier at a time."

I find the above slogan in conjunction with the J.F.K. quote that, "War will exist until the distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige as the warrior does today," to truly be the most practical. The reality is that the people who instigate and force others to carry out war would never risk fighting in battles themselves.

The reality is that if a critical mass (probably even less than 10%) of military members refused to fight, this would undoubtedly put an immediate end to America's current wars. The reasons that such a small number can have such a significant impact are many. Ultimately, it's not the direct loss of labor that would be the lynchpin, but the ripple effect of doubt and the loss of legitimacy.

As of February 2009, the entire U.S. Armed Forces consists of 1.4 million "active duty personnel." 10% of this would be 140,000 people. Think about what you know of how much time and how many resources have been used in the course of my individual request to be classified as a conscientious objector. Imagine that multiplied by 140,000, or even by 70,000 (5%) or even 14,000 (1%).

Add to this the multiplying effect that would come from the circle in which each individual spread his or her beliefs. The numbers would be in the millions. For example, since May 31st when I began using Google Analytics, warisimmoral.com has had over 500 unique visitors from more than 20 different countries. Surely not everyone will blog, but I know that all will tell their families and their friends and that these people will continue to tell others, and by this, the phrase "stopping war one solider at a time," proves its true power.

Days 46-49 - Heather Speaks Out

I'm continuing to only intermittently post while on leave, but the following was too exciting not to make available immediately.

After finally being able to watch the movie, Sir! No Sir!, that I previously referenced on Day 23, my wife, Heather, unbeknownst to me, wrote the attached letter to the movie's producers. While I had been vaguely aware that she had written someone after we finished the movie, I hadn't given it a second thought until today, when I stumbled on the letter which is posted on the Sir! No Sir! website at the following link.

______________________________

Thank you Adam (and everyone who was part of "Sir! No Sir!"),

My husband, Daniel, and I just finished watching "Sir! No Sir!", and my first impulse was to immediately write to you all. Daniel is in the middle of attempting to obtain a discharge from the Navy as a conscientious objector, and I don't feel like I can adequately express how meaningful it was for me to watch the film and realize that we're not alone.

After having "served" for six months in Guantanamo Bay, Daniel came home as a very subdued and troubled version of his former self. For more than a year, he and I struggled with how to make sense of the things that he had witnessed and experienced there. I include myself in his struggle because of the fact that he received no validation of his questioning from the limited mental health resources that were made available to him upon his return home.

This meant that I was his sounding board, safety net, and psychologist for the past year and a half, hardly roles that I am well equipped to fulfill, especially while trying to maintain my own sanity. Watching him try to make sense of his participation in war has forced me to question so many of the things that I have been taught about war, government, America, and obedience. I've done a complete 180 in my views and was actually the one who suggested that he research conscientious objection because of how distressed he was over his continued involvement with the military.

Despite this, I have often felt very alone in this process. Daniel wasn't part of a unit that was sent to Guantanamo Bay; he was essentially loaned out by himself to another command. This meant that there was no one who had gone through it all with him to talk with about it when he came home. Filing for conscientious objector status has proven to be a rather solitary experience as well. It was months after he made the decision to file before he found another sailor who had successfully obtained a discharge. As a fairly introverted person, I've found it similarly difficult to find people who were sympathetic enough to the situation that I could speak freely with them.

And then we watched "Sir! No Sir!" In one sense, it was horrifying to know what sorts of atrocities were perpetrated by the U.S. government against both innocent foreigners and its own citizens. At the same time, I felt relief wash over me as I realized that there are hundreds of thousands of people in this country who have, at the very least, risked imprisonment rather than fight a war. There was an entire movement that forced the U.S. government, with all its impressive technology, to retreat. I was born almost a decade after the Vietnam War was over, so I have no first-hand knowledge of that time.

As you're well aware, the "history" that I was fed in government schools is significantly different than the events that you presented. It gives me so much hope to know that the American people themselves have ended at least one war before, which means that they can do it again. It's gotten a lot harder because the government has gotten better at managing its image, has created a perception of a "voluntary" military, and has isolated many people from being face to face with the consequences of their participation in war.

Still, seeing the courage of those who were willing to be ridiculed, beaten, court-martialed, and imprisoned for their insistence that they would not participate in immoral actions was incredibly encouraging. It caused me to think that there must be additional ways for me to actively oppose the current wars that the U.S. government is perpetrating. I don't feel quite so alone now, and I feel like I've had the drink of cool water that I needed to keep going in a stressful situation.

Thank you again for speaking out about the experiences of so many others who have been in even more difficult situations and come through with their integrity intact.

Heather Lakemacher

______________________________

I haven't a clue as to how I would be able to cope with all that has, and is continuing to happen, were it not for the incredible empathy, insight, and companionship of Heather. I believe I first told her more than eight years ago that she is the love of my life, the woman of my dreams, and above all, she's my best friend. Amazingly, despite how much we've both changed in the intervening years, these claims are no less true today than when I first made them.

Heather's Letter: Sir! No Sir! Blog

General Website: http://www.sirnosir.com/

Day 10 - A Visual Explanation

I'm physically and emotionally exhausted after my past two nights of introspection and writing that culminated in yesterday's post. My mood is somber, but peaceful, after having admitted to what I believe was my contribution to the injustice that continues in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.

As for the progress of my request, I again have nothing to report. I'm waiting to find out who the Command will assign as the "investigating officer" of my conscientious objection, and so for now, the next anticipated event in this process will be my psychiatric evaluation on the 21st of May. If there is no other news tomorrow, I plan to post an overview of the conscientious objection procedure as detailed in the Department of Defense and Navy instructions.

After so many written words attempting to explain my beliefs, I'll end this entry with what I think is an excellent visual explanation of the ideas behind my action.