Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Is Conscientious Objector Normal?

Well, not normal in the sense of "normed", that is socially conditioned to be mainstream.  But conscientious objector is standard human default position.  What is twisted is to be willing to kill others.

Now to be sure, all religions caution against killing to some degree, and our rules reveal our weaknesses, and the Ten Commandments certainly contain "Thou Shalt Not Kill."  So getting twisted into a willingness to kill is quite common, as our rules reveal.

I attended a lecture on just war offered by a priest who had been a naval officer.  His revelation came as he stepped on to a nuclear sub for the first time upon which he was to serve, and was appalled by the experience.  The destructive capacity was too great, concentrated in so small a vehicle, and his thinking and meditations led him to leave the navy as a conscientious objector.

What he had to say about that was interesting.  Now my understanding was any officer can resign his commission and leave.  I am sure that have changed.  What he related was when he informed his commanding officer of his change of heart, he was told to keep it absolutely secret.  It would take time, but they would quietly remove him from the navy. If he told anyone before he got out, then he would end up in jail.  Presumably conscientious objection is contagious.

Anyway, in his talk he happened to indicate he thought conscientious objection was something of an aberration.  I let it go during his talk, but approached him afterward to remonstrate with him on this point.  At first he doubled down, then I pointed out that a willingness to kill, although near universal is the aberration.  The conscientious objection is the image of God to which we are to aspire to strive.

Now having said that, being a conscientious objector is a gift.  There is no virtue in the gift, it just is.  But all life is a gift, and the gifts give us an insight into how we would be as obedient children.  Conscientious objection probably comes under, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, under understanding.
Understanding: In understanding, we comprehend how we need to live as followers of Christ. A person with understanding is not confused by the conflicting messages in our culture about the right way to live. The gift of understanding perfects a person's speculative reason in the apprehension of truth. It is the gift whereby self-evident principles are known;
Such a gift comes with a built in faithfulness.  It would not occur to me to deny it, and no doubt I would be fearless in its defense.  Again, none of this is virtuous, any more than being born rich is virtuous.  It is just an indication to everyone else what the standard is.  And we all have such gifts in some way.

Further, failure in other ways rather overwhelms any benefit being such a torch bearer may have, even if it were some kind of virtue.

The reason I was given AO status, the most extreme form, I am not even allowed to do alternative service, is because as a genuine conscientious objector, I would convince others to be so.  Not everyone, but enough to cause a problem.  Likewise, even a johnny-come-lately as the naval officer was to keep quiet or be jailed.  (Apparently they would jail him on some other charges, in order to keep the CO thing quiet.)

If not normal, conscientious objection is standard human.  It's not for everyone, but for those to whom the gift is given, then rock that gift!

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Saturday, August 27, 2016

Israel Releases Conscientious Objector

Apparently Israel has the same CO standards as the USA, but Israel drafts women....
After spending 67 days in military prison, Israeli conscientious objector Omri Baranes was officially released from IDF service on Thursday. Baranes, from the city of Rosh HaAyin in central Israel, was recognized by an IDF committee as a pacifist and was thus released on conscientious grounds. The conscientious objectors committee originally reject her request, leading Baranes to refuse to serve in the army and sit in prison.
Well, actually, with a poverty draft USA dragoons women as well, but never mind.  She is not exactly a CO, since she only objects to war partially, hence her original rejection for CO status.  The IDF probably needed the cell, so they listed her CO and sent her on her way.

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Sunday, August 21, 2016

Charge Lt Gen Stephen Townsend with War Crimes

Amazing:
(CNN)In the most direct public warning to Moscow and Damascus to date, the new US commander of American troops in Iraq and Syria is vowing to defend US special operations forces in northern Syria if regime warplanes and artillery again attack in areas where troops are located.
This is so poorly worded.  Better: USA forces illegally in Syria will attack Syrian forces if Syrian forces defend their homeland, their country.  We have trespassed in someone's back yard, picked a fight, and will kill anyone who defends their home. You may not obey illegal orders.  For an American general to be conducting war inside a country with which we are not at war is a war crime.
"We've informed the Russians where we're at ... (they) tell us they've informed the Syrians, and I'd just say that we will defend ourselves if we feel threatened," Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend told CNN in a telephone interview Saturday from his Baghdad headquarters.
Clearly his job is to start WWIII, change the topic from failed economics to war.  He needs to be arrested a tried.

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Friday, August 19, 2016

Aren't We Supposed to Do That?

A man was arrested for impersonating Jesus.
A man has been arrested for impersonating Jesus Christ after he was spotted walking along a road carrying a huge wooden cross on his back.
Isn't that what we are supposed to do?

We need a theology check on aisle three....
"This, of course, offends believers. Nobody has the right to try on the image of Jesus Christ, who is our sacred lord," he said.
No one could hang from that cross, so they should not have taken him seriously.

The performance artist had an interesting observation:
"This reaction proves that the Bible story was true and that after 2,000 years people have still not changed - we are still cruel and intolerant to our neighbours."
So if you act like Jesus you come to believe in Jesus?

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Wednesday, August 10, 2016

I Wish Gabby Had Put a Fist In the Air

Here was a delightful protest at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

Image result for protest 1968 olympics

Here is Gabby at 2016 Rio.

olympicgymnasticteam.jpg
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/rio-2016-gabby-douglas-national-anthem-twitter-gymnastics-hand-on-heart-criticism-a7182451.html
I hope we've grown up enough to not destroy her career for exercising nonviolent protest and free speech.  She was obviously protesting, and said she did not intend disrespect.  Good enough, she said what she was not doing.  Nonviolent protest implies a sort of respect, doesn't it?

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Sunday, August 7, 2016

War Corruption is No Secret

Wikileaks lays out how Hillary gets money from a French firm that funds and arms ISIS.
He went on to emphasize that “we are dealing with a criminal undertaking at a global level,” and that there is a war being led by the United States and its allies. He stated that “the global war on terrorism is fake . . . it’s based on fake premises” and it tells us that “somehow America and the Western world are going after a fictitious enemy, the Islamic State, when in fact the Islamic State is fully supported and financed by the Western military alliance and America’s allies in the Persian gulf.”
Now, Hillary was a young lawyer going after Nixon in the impeachment.  She learned much about corruption then married just such a man.  They knew how the world worked, and Hillary in particular wanted to pursue "more immediate, ecstatic, and penetrating modes of living..." which necessarily means being a war-maker, not a soldier.

How did the world work?
Our president’s (Ed. Note: Bush II) grandfather saw no particular problem selling oil to the Nazisin spite of the fact we were at war with Germany. Where he got caught Congress would seize theassets. Five of the Bush family companies were seized by Congress in this manner. Congressinvoked the Trading with the Enemy Act and seized the Bush-Harriman-managed Thyssen entityHamburg-American Line, under Vesting Order No. 126. Thereafter, under Order No. 248, andthen Vesting Order No. 259, and ultimately Vesting Order No. 261 various other businesses were seized. None of this is secret, it is all in public records. There is evidence there were more going on, which were not caught.
Obviously it still works that way.  Movies showing American English teachers, retailers, bakers getting slaughtered on the beach at Normandy attacking German English teachers, retailers, bakers is popular and exciting especially to teenagers who think they are both lucky and bulletproof.

A movie about a Bush family making millions selling oil to the Nazis would be as interesting as a surveillance video of a WalMart check out aisle.

That war is a racket is no secret.  Major USA leaders were naming names of miscreants at the time.  The miscreants are in charge.  So nothing happens.  Watch your movie!

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Saturday, August 6, 2016

Conscientious Objectors Replace Police in Detroit

And yield better results in the hardest neighborhoods.

The City of Detroit can no longer bother (or afford) to respond to citizen's pleas for help when they call 911.  So conscientious objectors step in and solve the problem.


If it works in Detroit, why not everywhere else, and get rid of this failed experiment of only the last 150 years or so of "police"?  (This guy reminds me very much of James DeMile. and here…)

The conscientious objectors only got their chance to outperform the police for the last 20 years because of the failure of the Hegemon's social contract.  C'est la vie.

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