"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
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"RCE" wrote in message
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"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
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"RCE" wrote in message
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"basskisser" wrote in message
ups.com...

JIMinFL wrote:
"Don White" wrote in message
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JIMinFL wrote:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio...ers040908.html

What's your point?
If they helped bring that war to an early close shouldn't they be
honoured?

Honoring cowardly acts is not the American way. I'm surprised that
Canada
feels differently.

Cowardice had nothing to do with it. People went because they had the
balls to stand up to their political, religious and personal
convictions. They didn't like the reasoning for the war, realized it
was absurd that we were there, and didn't just lemming-like join
because everyone tells them that it's honorable to your country to go
kill a bunch of innocent people.


It had nothing to do with "joining". It was draft evasion. Those that
violated the law and ran to Canada or elsewhere were in the minority,
for sure, but they caused others to be called up to replace them who
otherwise may not have been called. If one was willing to take the
time to prove being a true conscientious objector, there were programs
to allow you to serve the country in other ways other than the
military. Even those of us in the military had limited options. My
best friend served in the fleet marines as a Navy corpsman, caring for
the injured and saving lives. He never carried a rifle. This was by
choice because he didn't believe in killing.

Most of us that were subject to the draft during the 60's were products
of the American culture of the 50's. That culture taught us that
military service was an honorable duty, along with patriotism and a
sense of unity of purpose. By the late 60's things had changed. The
drug culture was in full bloom, the sexual revolution was well underway
and the overall thinking was "me" rather than "us". So, I don't buy
all the crap about draft dodgers being generally categorized as being
spiritually and/or morally opposed to the Vietnam War or our
government's actions. They were, with some exceptions, more interested
in themselves and their personal interests. In a sense this selfish
philosophy produced a whole new group of lemmings.

RCE


If you (and I mean specifically YOU, not some theoretical "other") were
absolutely sure that a war was wrong, would you still serve?


At the time .... yes. It was a duty, not a choice.

RCE


I guess this describes what I see as duty:

"To be a patriot, one had to say, and keep on saying, " Our country, right
or wrong," and urge on the little war. Have you not perceived that that
phrase is an insult to the nation?"
-- Mark Twain, Glances at History

I believe it's treasonous to go along with the mob when the mob is wrong.


It isn't that black and white. Most of Congress, both sides, originally
voted for the invasion of Iraq. The Vietnam War started as a noble cause.

Can you imagine a country where a serious call to arms is met with
individual decisions to respond or not, based on their approval or
disapproval of the cause?

RCE