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If You Know Young People Who Are Opposed to Going to War...

Vol. 2, No. 2--March 19, 2005

Reverend Rich Lang is pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Seattle, Washington and is well-known in Seattle as an advocate for peace.

On Sunday, March 6, Reverend Lang's church hosted a training session for young people interested in becoming conscientious objectors (COs). That training was organized by an inspiring high school student named Sara Nausner and conducted through the auspices of the Mennonite Church and Veterans for Peace. We asked Reverend Lang and Sara to comment on the training in order to educate our readers on what they can do in their own communities. Their responses follow. First, Reverend Lang:

We can't just let it happen to us again. The "it" is the atrophy of our national idealism for lies and deceptions. The "it" is the Empire's claims to sovereignty over the sacred lives of our children. The "it" is sacrificing our sons and daughters so that Corporations can create markets that infuse an elite with obscene profits while destroying the earth and crushing the hope of the poor. We can't just let history continue to repeat itself. It is time to evolve.

I'm just a little guy. A little pastor in a little church. We little people need to stretch ourselves out doing our little deeds of what we can do so that together we become a whole wave of movement that shakes and redirects the future.

And so a couple of us contacted local high schools and gathered information about military recruiting. We contacted the kids we knew and asked them to pass out to their classmates a flyer announcing a Conscientious Objector workshop. The workshop was taught by trained CO practitioners from the local Mennonite Church and Veterans for Peace.

Kids recruiting kids produced a class of about 30. A great first step. Several parents came. What the kids ended up with was an understanding of what it means to be a CO. On a practical level, they began the first steps to creating documentation of their CO stance. To do so, they were instructed to take these steps:

1. Write a letter/essay stating why you are a CO.
2. Send a copy to your Congressional representatives.
3. Send one to yourself without opening it (for the post-mark proof).

After the training, I was contacted by the staff of a local high school and asked to be present on the days Military Recruiters were on campus. We gathered up materials and set up a table. A great first step.

There will be second and third steps. We are now in three high schools as a counter-recruiting presence. We will continue to do CO education workshops throughout the year. Some are planning to create a Peace library inside a local church. We are trying to get inside the schools to do brief "teachings" even trying to set up a civil debate between recruiters and ourselves.

We can't just let it happen to us again. It is time to take a first step. It is time to evolve.

Sara Nausner Reports on Organizing a CO Training at her High School

Many youth oppose wartime killing. They also think that the war in Iraq is wrong. Youth are afraid that there will be a draft that would send them to kill in this war. They don't know what to do. We youth do have other options and we can choose them. I was not concerned about these issues until I attended a Conscientious Objector Training. I did not know much about Conscientious Objectors except that they were opposed to war. The training seminar was focused on providing youth with an opportunity to explore and possibly identify themselves as Conscientious Objectors. We had a chance to watch some military recruitment ads and a documentary called "Anyone's Son Will Do." The documentary was on a group of new military recruits and their journey through a U.S. Army Boot Camp. In addition, we talked about what it means to be a Conscientious Objector. I realized then that I had an opportunity to give other youth this experience.

I started a peace club at school. My goal is to have our own Conscientious Objector Training for students and create an option for students to register their objection to war through the school. This opportunity is vital for those students that are not involved with a church that supports Conscientious Objection.

I let United Methodist Pastor Rich Lang know about this training. He was interested so I put him in contact with local Mennonite trainers and there was an ecumenical training last week at Trinity United Methodist Church in Seattle. We had students representing at least 10 different high schools. My high school advisors attended and we are all excited about planning a training at the high school for next fall. These trainings are very important because they give high school students the opportunity to consider their views and options in a time of war.

Sara Nausner
(age 16, grade 11)
Shorecrest High School
Shoreline, WA

Under the heading of "Unintended Consequences," Reverend Lang follows up with his experience as a counter-presence to the high school Army recruiter:

Meeting With a Recruiter

So there we were. I had set up my table in the Career Room of the local high school. Right across from me was the Army Recruiter table. Together we sat alone. After a time of glancing up and looking away from each other we decided to introduce ourselves. For the next 90 minutes not one student entered the Career Room seeking career opportunities in the military. Nor, for that matter, did any student enter seeking to learn about Conscientious Objection to war.

Alone, all we had was each other--the Recruiter and I. And so we talked. Zack had returned from Iraq 8 months ago. He had seen action. He had lost a couple of buddies. But he was proud of his service. He believed that weapons of mass destruction would be found someday. He believed that we were there to liberate the oppressed people of Iraq. He believed that our presence was benevolent. He spoke with great pride about the soccer balls given out and the school houses built.

Zack was all of 23 years of age and a thoroughly decent fellow. I liked him immediately. Our skin colors might be different but we both bleed red and that is enough to unite us. As we spoke, I disagreed with everything he said. I shared information about war profiteering, prisoner abuse, continual lies by this administration concerning operations and motives in the Iraq war. We talked a great deal about 9/11 and, since I'm a Pastor, we talked about God and the moral problem of war.

Together we disagreed about our perceptions of the truth behind the war. But there was one thing we were both in agreement about. Zack, like me, is angry, confused, upset, and bewildered about the treatment of veterans when they return from war. The condition of VA hospitals, the lack of financial security borne by military families, and the apparent disregard of veterans once they are no longer useful to the war effort was a buzzer that went off in both of us.

The Peace movement has learned that the troops are not our enemy. As human beings, most soldiers are responding to deep urges to forge a meaningful life and to set forth on a heroic adventure. They see the military as an opportunity to live a constructive life. Unfortunately, our troops are used by others to become warriors of empire, muscle for Corporate profits, hit-men for elite gain.

My conversation with Zack reminded me of two lessons that we in the Peace movement would do well to remember. The first lesson is to connect with veterans on issues of their health care, financial sustainability, and family well-being. These troops are our people, friends, family and neighbors. It doesn't matter why they are in the armed forces. What matters is that we always belong together despite our disagreements. Let not this administration drive a wedge between us. These men and women bleed red just as we do. This common bond is the basis for affection and respect.

Secondly, we need to continue to articulate with ever greater concision and clarity our assessment of the moral and financial corruption of the government. Through civil conversation (not confrontation) Zack found himself exposed to an "interesting perspective" concerning war profiteering, 9/11 questions, and moral issues of war. The perspective was interesting enough for him to ask about information sources to learn more.

If we are to recruit the troops to become a dissenting voice against war, then I think we need to build relationships of appreciation between us. We need to infect the troops with a moral conversation that appeals to their humanity and their own sense of justice. All it takes is a conversation to seed a doubt. All it takes is a respectful dialogue to open the conscience to new alternatives.

And it goes both ways. Meeting with Zack reminds me that he is not my enemy and need not be treated as such. He has his reasons as I have mine. Come, let us reason together.

Reverend Rich Lang
www.tumseattle.org

Reverend Lang's essay, "George Bush and the Rise of Christian Fascism" has appeared in many places on the Internet, generating interest and commentary throughout the US and in countries throughout the world. The official church Web site offers the most recently revised version.

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