How to Become a Conscientious Objector

If you claimed conscientious objector status, would a draft board believe you? Curt Torell of Quaker House has some tips for making sure they do.

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⇒⇒Transcript:

Imagine if 3 years from now, there was a draft. And you got a draft notice to report for induction and you realized that you were a conscientious objector. What you would do is you would fill out a form requesting a deferment and you would be scheduled to meet with a local draft board to substantiate your position. One of the 3 definitions of being a conscientious objector is that it’s sincere and deeply held. So if you had not done any kind of documentation and you went to that draft board, the first question they would say is, “Well, are you really a conscientious objector, or do you just want to get out of the draft? Because you’ve just turned this thing in 10 days ago.”

How to Become a Conscientious Objector

Conscientious objection, legally, fits into three terms: a person has to be personally against their own participation in any and all wars. It must be based on religious, moral or ethical beliefs and training. And the third is it must be sincere or deeply held. And that third one really equates to documentation.

A Spiritual Conviction Against War

One of the things that Quakers early on as a testimony was the testimony of peace and honoring “that of God” in every person. When you’re killing someone in war, you’re not recognizing that there is that of God in that person. George Fox talked about taking away the occasions for all war, and I think what he was trying to do was stress the fact that every human being is a child of God, and therefore respected.

The Origin of Conscientious Objection

I think conscientious objection evolved not because of a government making a decision down, but you had Quakers–who were rather stubborn about their religious views– and they asserted that they would not go to war. And I think that force, early on during the colonial period, pushed legislators and state legislators to recognize the fact that this group is not going to go to war.

The Hidden Registration for Selective Service

Virtually every male living in the United States–even illegal immigrants– need to register for selective service 30 days before or after their 18th birthday. That process has become pretty much seamless and hidden in that, in about 45 states across the country, it’s now automatic when people sign up for a driver’s license. So you people, young men really aren’t even aware that they are signing up for selective service.

Oddly enough, right now for 18 year olds, there’s no place on their selective service form to document a position for conscientious objection.

The Importance of Documentation

So if the draft board said to you, “Prove that you’re a conscientious objector. Show us that you’re sincere and that these are deeply held.” The best answer you could say is you could look them right in the eye and say, “Three years ago, when there was no draft and I didn’t have to do this, I signed up for selective service and I wrote a letter to my faith or my support community indicating that I wanted to be a C.O. I think that shows my sincerity.”

The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.

[toddhowardforreal]

"Imagine if three years from now there was a draft."

2020: Hey you know that obscure YouTube video? Yeah...

[TechBearSeattle]

Get a letter from your faith community or equivalent organization (both the American Humanist Association and the American Atheists will provide such letters) that outline a moral or ethical objection to taking human life. Clip articles from magazines and newspapers -- remember to include the date and name of publication -- and write a short, one or two paragraph response to why you support or oppose the views of the article. Write letters to the editor, and clip those. Write essays and reports in school about your objections to war. Attend rallies and demonstrations, and write a short paper about what you learned and how it made you feel.

Then get two or three file folders and use those to create identical portfolios, with clippings or photocopies of everything. If a draft gets reactivated, take one file with you when you visit the draft board: keep the others safe because, back in the day, it was not unusual for such documentation to "accidentally" get misplaced and you may find that you need to replace it in a hurry.

You may also want to become familiar with Supreme Court rulings on conscientious objection, particularly United States v. Seeger (1965) and Welsh v. United States (1970), which held that the deeply held beliefs leading to objection do not have to be religious, and Gillette v. United States (1971), which clarified the law as meaning objection to ALL war and not just particular ones.

[aaronabutoboul]

The TWOsday-Movement aims for worldpeace on Tuesday 22.02.2022.
We ask all soldiers on our planet to be conscienctious objectors from this day on and to take it from there up towards goodheartetness!
Help us to bring this highest of all goals forward and get the rock rolling!!!

[itsthequenchiest]

I've been religious for at least 10 years, not including the few years I was unaware of the religion. Although i no longer am part of it nor hold their main beliefs, i stand by their moral/ethical beliefs that violence is not only a disgrace to others, but a disgrace to oneself. In that decade, i have grown to appreciate life and others. I couldn't bring myself to pulling a trigger on someone who most likely hasn't fully experienced life, just as myself. Deep down, I feel terrible for the people who don't own this mindset, and much more for the people who fall victims of these people. Being an Atheist doesn't mean you, of all people, have to give your life up to end the lives of others. If you must help the people who do agree to fight, without the ability to refuse, then I agree to defending my people, not fighting for them. Not killing for them. Not dying for them. For if either of the three is the case, it is all worth nothing when you have only asked for more wars in the future by simply bearing that weapon in your hand

[melodymsg]

I would legitimately rather rot in jail or die then get drafted into the military

[MerwinARTist]

💞 I was raised as a Seventh-Day Adventist. A conservative Christian, home schooled, church schooled, and public schooled. How you are schooled .. how you are raised has a lot to do with the way things go later in life. I registered for the draft as a Conscientious Objector (CO) not because I had a studied personal conclusion about life morals .. but because that is what my parents suggested / instructed me to do.

I was born in Oklahoma .. but raised in the Asheville, NC area. I heard Desmond Doss, CO & Metal of Honor winner speak at my church. I was also a young artist. When I received a letter from Uncle Sam to report for duty .. it was toward the end of the Vietnam war. I was destined to be trained as a medic .. which I was .. and spent all my time in Texas .. Ft. Sam Houston .. then Ft Hood .. where I worked in the Orthopedic clinic (bones) .. multitasking in the clinic, ward, ER, and surgery .. and I was often doing medical illustrations for some of the doctors. I was called, "Doc" by many patients.

There is a reason why young men and women are used in the military .. they are basically clueless about life .. and easily molded into whatever discipline they need to study. We were not told in Church or School .. or the media .. how wrong the Vietnam war or any others were. In Vietnam .. US Airplanes were spraying Agent Orange (Monsanto) as a defoliant over the jungles .. but it took forever to get the "System" to acknowledge Agent Orange had contributed to the poor health of soldiers after the war was over. There is no ethical or moral reason for US to go into other countries .. destroying their people .. and gaining control of their assets and natural resources. It's another matter if we are being attacked .. but we haven't been in a very long time.

Meanwhile the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) is making a lot of money in the stock market .. as they make contracts with various arms factories. With all that money invested in weapons of mass destruction .. we have to have people in gov. who are willing to make lies about other countries and our need to go "defend our country" !! How about we stop making battle scarred veterans?? How about we turn our swords into plows? We like to point to Nazi Germany as a horrible monster .. yet we are the ones who invented the Nuclear Bomb! Some of the COs of the Vietnam era were used to test various drugs .. called the "White Coat" program .. don't tell me that it was any better than what we have heard about Nazi Doctors experimenting on people.

People will sometimes comment and say .. how great it is that we have a Separation of Church and State .. yet they conveniently overlook the fact that all licensed pastors are the epitome of Church & State in one person. On the day of a wedding you will hear them say, "As a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ .. and as an OFFICIAL of the STATE OF ARKANSAS .. I now pronounce you man and wife!"

Now let me take this a bit further .. the Jesus story .. is it the truth or is it a lie? As we have been told .. Religion and Politics are used to manipulate people! If the Jesus story (at it's root) is a falsehood .. then so is the larger structure .. no matter how much white paint covers it's blood stained walls. The word, "SUPERSTITION" .. means "an Unreasonable Belief". Jesus is said to have been born without the involvement of an earthly father .. yet there are around 8 Billion people on earth today .. who are the product of a human sperm and egg. Jesus is said to have walked on water and changed it into wine .. do we know any Popes, Priests, Pastors, or Prophets .. who have walked on water or changed it into wine? There are none!!! It is an UNREASONABLE BELIEF .. ie SUPERSTITION. Christianity is primarily a teaching which is good for the general population .. when it comes to moral conduct .. however, some other belief systems like that of the Dali Lama have higher merit.

When 9/11 (an inside job) happened .. the public was told it was an attack on the US by Bin Laden .. yet we went after Saddam and slaughtered many many innocent people in cold blood .. based on a lie. People who participate in this kind of blood letting .. come home to face their families .. many commit suicide.

What would happen if every man or woman .. registered for the draft as a CO .. imagine having every soldier becomes a medic .. what could we do to heal the world!

[ronpearson]

Can you claim CO status long before a draft to avoid ever getting drafted in the first place?

[thestillroombotanicals]

The link to the curriculum takes me to a “page not found” error. Is there a new link for the curriculum? I’m having troubles finding information on how to document my son. Thanks!

[Abel_Y]

U know what? There might be a draft very soon...

[spookycold]

that feeling when you play tf2 and find this
lol

[Verradonairun]

I've never served in a war, but I have a strong feeling that I'd be a fragger.

[justicetruthvegan]

Thank you very much for this conscientious objector film.
Very kind of you.
My father Brian Robert Oury lives very near the Quacker meeting house Jordans Bucks county U.K. Brian had the red carpet rolled out for him at the Pentagon for his part in forensic accounting stopping Saddam Hussein build and point a bomb at Isreal.
Forensic accountancy is often what it takes to be a proper consciencious objector.

[trace]

shoutouts to everyone here from feb 2022

[acox]

CO isnt discussed in school. Many young men aren't even aware that it exists.

[NoShiiitSherlock]

That’s SO RIDICULOUS that the 3rd part of proving something completely intangible requires documentation!???? How do you document you conscience? Seems absolutely ridiculous to me...

[ponraul]

What if not a Quaker, but a Southern Baptist who is a CO based on moral & ethical ground against foreign interventionism, which happens to be most wars?

[JazzyGazzy-njrn]

gonna speak to my priest about this today, thank you! it’s downright crazy that they DONT PUT A CHECKBOX FOR IT ON THE DOCUMENT, they’re forcing people with threats without the full picture, terrible law!

[mashigabla]

Anyone else here bc it’s 2024 and all men are now automatically registered for the draft

[SantaFe]

Did Quakers avoid the draft in WW2 and Vietnam, and how?

[joshuajuarez]

Took 5 year's, but damn what an accurate prediction pretty close