SOUTHW0RDS
November 1971
War behind the war
Conscientious objectors battle draft
no author
Just registering for the draft can be a frightening experience according to one South student. "It's like selling your soul," he explained. Another compared it to paying a ticket, only worse. Something like handing your life over to someone else.
After registering, a young man is sent his draft card and a question form which allows him to request conscientious objector status.
Current information on this process is unavailable from the Selective Service until mid-November. Draft boards are waiting for the interpretation of the latest Selective Service Act.
A Maine South graduate, however, who applied for and received his status as a conscientious objector was willing to discuss his views on the procedures and ideas involved.
Questions frequently asked of those considering C.O. status usually concern situations such as the following. If the Russians were invading his town, would this person resist? Another is, if someone were pointing a gun at him, would he fight back?
According to Robert '70, a registered conscientious objector, such questions have clear answers.
"You don't have to say you won't defend this land if it is attacked, because that is not a war-related issue and also not a C.O. related issue," stated Robert.
He applied the same thought to self-defense. "Any sane person," he argued, "would defend himself if approached with intent to kill."
Robert used these arguments since he feels that a person should not be forced to decide to kill, such as in war. He felt a religious disagreement to killing people as well as a disagreement with the policy in what he felt was an immoral war.
Robert is a member of the Congregational Church and currently attends Grinnell College.
Robert was not interviewed by his draft board. He hypothesizes that the same backlog of cases which delays the decisions as much as four or five months may also cause the board to eliminate this traditional but time-consuming step.
Some of the other questions a C.O. has to deal with include the subject of objection to wars. Robert handled this problem by stating that he didn't know exactly how he would have felt about those wars since he wasn't alive to decide by experience. He does object to past wars, however, on the grounds of historical knowledge.
He was a strong objector to the Vietnam War, he emphasized, because of the experience of living through it.
One of the most revealing parts of the process of applying for conscientious objector status, other than the candidate's own views, is, according to Robert, the letters written by witnesses. While no particular number of letters is required, Bob feels that a large number of convincing testimonials is better.
Some of the best, he noted, come from ministers, teachers, and other people of community influence. Others are written by people who do not believe objection is right, but who must admit that the person in question is a known conscientious objector.
For more information, Robert suggested students contact the Midwest Committee for Draft Counseling, the American Friends Service Committee or the Government Appeals Attorney who has some connection with the draft board. Another recommended source was the Maine Township Hotline.