When War Doesn't Work and Conscientious Objection Isn't Enough, Ask the Whales

“We, who have seen war, will never stop seeing it.”  Journalist Joe Galloway wrote those words in his bestseller, We Are Soldiers Still. He’s right, as anyone who’s been on a battlefield can attest.  The men, the women, and the children.

I was a child during the Vietnam War. Having been raised by my stoutly Catholic grandmother, I recall kneeling during the death toll posted in scrolling text at the end of the seven o’clock news. Had I not been made to kneel in recognition of those fallen, I--being so young and comparatively sheltered otherwise—may not have been aware until years later, when the books final came off the press and the films eventually, yet inevitably, hit theaters.

It’s easy to not be aware when wars are fought on foreign soil, when no one in your family, or neighborhood, is involved, when you are surrounded by entities sheltering you from the actual atrocities. For whatever reason, my grandmother made a choice, and because of that decision I have come to acknowledge a couple of things: firstly, that there are many forms of warfare, some not so distant; and, secondly, that awareness is a profound responsibility, which each and every one of us, being citizens of the same planet, either accepts and assumes, or declines and ignores.

I have long been a perplexed pacifist. Though my conviction has been challenged as I've grown older, and though I've developed a warrior mentality to some degree, at the core of who I am, I still believe, and strive for, a mutually inclusive peaceful coexistence—in everything I do and in everything I say. I am a spiritual philosopher, and as such would like to believe that humanity has the ability to evolve beyond warring. Yet, history continues to support the higher probability that we are incapable of doing so. 

I wish there was some cause to justify the inane redundancy of our apparent ingrain combativeness. I wish I could blame it on the sheer numbers of chefs in the kitchen. But, things weren't any more peaceful on Earth when there were less of us breeding upon it. I wish I could say exactly what the root of the problem was and devise a nonviolent, effective resolution. I do so wish. But, I can’t. Others, wiser and smarter than I who have come before me couldn't. Current day think-tanks still mull the issue, with no success. Therein lays the quandary—the first conflict from which all others stem.

We are not omnipotent. We aren't perfect beings harboring all the answers. We are victims of our own innate internal incongruity, sense battling instinct. Because it cannot be denied that it is our instinct to survive, to defend our right to live the lives we've been granted in accordance with the social –and, often times, archaic —social parameters as dictated by our respective tribes.

I am hardly the first pacifist whose convictions have been tested.  In 1963, Buddhist monks--avowed pacifists-- stretched the definition of nonviolent demonstration by igniting themselves in town squares throughout South Vietnam to protest religious intolerance. Within two years, the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade would be deployed, followed by the  1st Air Cavalry, and the US would be neck deep publicly engaged in “Rolling Thunder”, a nonstop aerial raiding operation that lasted for three years.  

From the US troupes first landing at China Beach, to the first battle in the Ia Drang Valley, to the My Lai massacre by the 11th Brigade’s Charlie Company, to 14 month long Operation Breakfast by which Nixon illegally ordered the covert bombing of then neutral Cambodia, to the eventual recapture of the Khmer Rouge hijacked Mayaguez by the 1st Battalion 4th Marines, soldiers who fought, and perished, in Vietnam were judged, not honored, by the American public. Shunned and abandoned even, during the war, and for decades afterwards.

This being the case, many soldiers fought for no other reason than to save their asses and those of the fellow men in their company.  Those men didn't fight for any lofty notions of freedom, per se, nor with the understanding that they represented a people united. Certainly, not with the reinstatement of the ‘lottery’, where conscripted soldiers—many who were morally, or ethically, resistant, or openly opposed to the war--were expected to fight alongside those who had voluntarily enlisted. Certainly not when the drafting process was hardly random.

Though 8.7 million soldiers participated in the Vietnam War, just shy of 2 million were conscripted. Of the 27 million eligible American males, 40% were drafted. Of the 10% that were actually deployed to Nam, 41% of those sent were black. At the time, black males constituted only 11 % of the total population. In '65 alone, one out of every four casualties was black.

The draft was all part of Robert McNamara's 100,000 Project, which he obviously far exceeded. He was rewarded by being the longest serving Secretary of Defense in US history. 

Due to the unpopularity of the war, 209,517 men were accused as draft dodgers. But, civilians weren't the only dissidents. By ’71, former Marine Colonel Robert Heinl claimed that “the morale, discipline and battle-worthiness of the U.S. armed forces (were), with a few salient exceptions, lower and worse than at any time in this century and possibly in the history of the United States.” Enlistment, as well as retention, rates dropped precipitously. The GI’s were also revolting. Desertion rates of those enlisted rose the highest they've ever risen, as did AWOL absences. Soldiers were, literally, jumping ships.

The Pentagon calculates that 503,926 “incidents of desertion” occurred between 1966 and 1971. The problem, many determined, was due to the personnel shortages meant to be address through the draft. Rampant racial discrimination among the lottery, and amidst the ranks, was also a contributing factor. A broken chain of command didn't help matters and GI’s joined civilian protesters. Administrative discharges for drug use, antiwar sentiments, and the inability to adapt to military life grew substantially.

The GI resistance started slowly, beginning with Lt. Henry Howe, being sentenced to two years hard labor for attending an antiwar demonstration. Then came the Ft. Hood 3 who were court martialed for refusing to deploy to ‘Nam.  Others followed suit, and before you knew it, soldiers on the front were defying orders, some even killing commanding officers. Mayhem ensued.

Because this is America, the Land of the Free, we have the right to not kill. Yet, only once drafted can a soldier opposed to serving in the armed forces, and/or bearing arms on the grounds of moral or religious principles file for Conscientious Objector (CO) status. 

Obviously, not all who applied were granted. A draftee’s position as pacifist, non- interventionist, anti-militarist cannot be based on politics, or self-interest. The objector’s lifestyle prior to making his claim must reflect how he arrived at his beliefs; and the influence those beliefs have had on how he lives his life. During the Vietnam War, 145,000 soldiers successfully applied for CO status.Those who had applied unsuccessfully either dodged, or deserted.

Today, all American males, including citizens and nationals, as well as undocumented immigrants, legal permanent residents, dual nationals, and refugees, are required by law to register with the Selective Service. Disabled men who are independently mobile, as well as mental unstable men released within 30 days from mental institutions or prisons must register. Females who have a sex change are not required to register. Yet, males who undergo a sex change are still required to register.

With the end of the direct ground combat exclusion rule for female service members, and the upcoming full integration of women into combat roles, it can be expected that recruitable females will soon be required to register, along with their male peers.

As a feminist, I’m all for equal opportunity for all people of all genders among any race. As a mother and grandparent, I fear for the safety and well being of my prodigy. As a human inhabitant, I am saddened by our species’ failure to evolve, and by our insistence to revert to violence when there is little evidence that—in the long run—it’s the thing that breaks the cycle and establishes enduring peace. Furthermore, I am sensible that martyrdom, though noble, has made negligible impact over the course of time. 

If fear generates fear, abuse begets abuse, and violence spawns more violence, then we are most definitely on the wrong track, and have been for a good long while. I can't help thinking, and hoping, that there has got to be a switch somewhere that can divert the world’s people onto a new track.

I vote we ask the whales.