Thinking about War and Participation in War

About This Site

The goal of this site is to become a repository of material to assist you in thinking through the underlying issues related to pacifism, militarism, and conscience.

We intend this to be a broadly-based participatory site. We invite you to submit essays, articles, and personal stories if you have thought deeply on these issues and/or have had experiences you would like to share.

There are excellent resources on the web covering practical, legal, and a wide variety of other issues related to conscientious objection. These include:

• Center on Conscience and War — 1-800-379-2679
• AFSC’s National Youth and Militarism Program
• NNOMY, National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth
• Quaker House — This is a Quaker project, located near Fort Bragg, NC, that works at a very practical level with military resistors, as well as other aspects of militarism, consicence, and resistance.
• Resister.info — Large collection of links and resources about the draft and draft registration
• GI Rights Hotline: 1-877-447-4487
• Official Selective Service Web site, including a brochure on Alternative Service.
• Official definition of Conscientious Objection as defined by the Military Selective Service Act  /  [Full text of the Selective Service Act]
  (We feel that, philosophically, this is an overly narrow definition that excludes many people who object to specific wars or tactics based on a sincere conscientious conviction. The definition needs to be broadened to respect the conscience of every person.)

Writings/Media Archived on this Site

• Just and Unjust War, by Howard Zinn — This is a firsthand reflection on his own wartime experence by the author of A People’s History of the United States, 1492 to the Present (highly recommended to anyone who knows only the history that was taught in school). Howard Zinn was a World War II bombardier who believed deeply in the justness of the cause of ridding the world of Fascism, but ended up summarizing his experience with the words, “Never Again.” In questioning the nearly universal acceptance of World War II as a just war, he brings all war into question as a way of resolving disputes among nations. This work is both profound and beautifully written. It should be read by anyone contemplating these issues. The essay originated as a chapter in Declarations of Independence, but is also included in The Zinn Reader, and Howard Zinn on War.
• Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience A classic statement about government, taxes, the Mexican War, and nonviolent resistance.
• Webb School Chapel Talk, ~1980, by David Chandler– Reflections on decision to become a Vietnam-era conscientious objector.
• Conscience and War, by David Chandler — Reflections on broadening the definition of what it is to be a conscientious objector.
• A Rationale for Counter-Recruitment, by David Chandler — What justifies opposing recruitment into an all-volunteer military?
• Friends Peace Testimony in Times of Terrorism by Robert Griswold
• A Frank Response to an Enlistee, by David Chandler — “The mandate to ‘Support the Troops’ is a red herring: it is an orchestrated propaganda campaign to de-legitimize dissent.”
• The Case for Conscientious Objection, by Andrew Young
• Statement by U.S. General Smedley Butler (1933) — Reflections on his military career.
  War is a Racket, by Smedley Butler
  [Biographical information on Gen. Smedley Butler]
• Fraud and Apocalypse — Research by Richard Behan on the interactions between the George W. Bush administration and the Taliban from the very start of the Bush administration, laying the groundwork for claiming Osama bin Laden as a rationale for the war in Afghanistan.  (No, it was not about 9/11!)  It is important for young people to ask themselves, are you actually being asked to “defend our freedom” or to impose an empire? (This is a pre-publication manuscript made available here by permission of the author.)
• Statement by Alfred F. Andersen — A reflection on a deeper “conscription”: the claim of “sovereignty” each nation makes over those born within its borders.
• Interview with Harry Wright-Johnson, a World War II CO
• Writings by Dale L. Berry
• The pacifist, the warrior, and courage–An interesting quote by Jean Giono (1895-1970) cited by Jean Paul Sartre in The War Diaries.
• “Quaker Heroes” — Three World War II conscientious objectors told their stories to the Upper Elementary Meeting of the 2001 session of the Pacific Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. The children responded by writing and illustrating the three narratives.
• On Working Against War — By Elsa Sabath

Other Articles/Resources
(on the web and elsewhere)

• The Press and the Myths of War by Chris Hedges — A deeply thoughtful and articulate account of the realities of war from the vantage point of an experienced war correspondent.
  “For war, when we confront it truthfully, exposes the darkness within all of us. This darkness shatters the illusions many of us hold not only about the human race but about ourselves. Few of us confront our own capacity for evil, but this is especially true in wartime. And even those who engage in combat are afterward given cups from the River Lethe to forget. And with each swallow they imbibe the myth of war. For the myth makes war palatable. It gives war a logic and sanctity it does not possess. It saves us from peering into the darkest recesses of our own hearts.”
• Wars Currently in Progress (There are more than you think!)
• Just War Theory — from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• The Catholic Church, in its great diversity, supports a significant peace movement through the Catholic Peace Fellowship and Pax Christi. The Catholic Peace Fellowship actively supports conscientious objectors. Its web site has much that would be of interest even to non-Catholics. Individual parishes support conscientious objector to varying degrees.
• Talk World Radio: Charles Lenchner on Refusing Military “Service”.  Interview of a former Israeli soldier who refused to be deployed against the occupied Palestinian population.
• It’s immoral to serve in an immoral military, by Caitlin Johnstone

Consciousness-raising videos

• Sir! No Sir! — (See also Amazon.com and elsewhere) Did you know that one of the biggest antiwar movements during the Vietnam era was going on within the military itself? Probably not, if your source of information was the mainstream media. This documentary resurrects a piece of history that has been buried for years. (Now available to view online on YouTube and Netflix)
• The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight it. — (See also Amazon.com). The Second World War was a hard war to oppose as a Conscientious Objector. It was widely supported and considered to be a “Good War.” It was also one of the bloodiest wars on record, killing over 60 million people worldwide. This is an excellent survey of the range of beliefs and actions of Conscientious Objectors and their impact on society in the years following the war.
• Hearts and Minds — (See also Amazon.com and elsewhere) This film won an Academy Award in 1974 for Best Documentary Feature. It is a remarkable account of the Vietnam war. The viewer reviews on Amazon help convey the power of the film, short of seeing it oneself.
• Winter Soldier — (See also Amazon.com and elsewhere) This is a documentary about the Winter Soldier Investigation, conducted in 1971 by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, to publicize the extent of atrocities committed by US troops in Vietnam. The film, which features interviews with soldiers telling about their personal experiences in Vietnam, is powerful, emotional, and graphic.
• A hearing on Conscientious Objection and Military Recruitment hosted by congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, with presentations by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the American Friends Service Committee, and other groups dealing with these issues.

Antiwar Links Dealing with Current Events

• Antiwar.com “Antiwar news, viewpoints, and activities”
• War Times A newspaper devoted to war-related news.
• A Just Cause, Not a Just War, by Howard Zinn
• Voices for Creative Nonviolence: “We recognize that for years now the U.S. has stood on the precipice of all out devastation-of itself and of the world. We look to history as a guide-and try to learn lessons from those who preceded us in far more dire circumstances, who somehow found the ability to form communities of resistance to oppression in Nazi Germany, in apartheid South Africa, in the Jim Crow South of the U.S. and in the super segregated cities of the North.”

Other Links

• Counter-recruitment organizations with useful web sites:
  Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities,
  National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth, and
  Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft.
• Movies on Peace and War Recommended by Quakers From submissions on the Quaker-L e-mail list.
• Resources for Peace A site maintained by Robert Seeley, author of the classic Handbook for Conscientious Objectors. The handbook is now out of print, but it is still available from used book sources on the internet and elsewhere. Some of the legal details are obsolete, but the discussion of issues is still a valuable resource.
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and the more radical Vietnam Veterans Against the War–Anti Imperialist — Lots of articles and links by and about Veterans whose eyes were opened by their experiences. (The two antagonistic organizations are not related. Both pages have thought provoking material to offer. Judge for yourself.)
• Buddhist Peace Fellowship
• Daniel Zwickel, hosts a site called Pacifist Nation that is worth exploring.
• The National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund works to pass legislation that would allow conscientious objectors to pay their federal taxes into a fund that would be distributed to nonmilitary appropriations. They work closely with the Center on Conscience and War.

Please contact us if you have other resources that might be added to this site.
Web site designed and maintained by David Chandler