Re: They gave their lives....

[Doug Pensinger]

Charlie Bell wrote:

> How do/did you demonstrate such? And surely if you have a moral objection to
> being shot at, it's easy enough to turn that around to objection to being
> behind the gun...

I'm pretty sure you are required to show that you belong to a religious
organization that believes war/killing to be immoral for a substantial period
(2 years?) prior to your applying for C.O. status.  Being Amish would
guaranteed exemption.  Mohammed Ali registered as a C.O., but I don't remember
if it was approved or not.  He didn't go, in any case, and was banned from his
sport for several years in his prime.

Personally, I think that conscription for a Viet Nam like war, where the
security of the country is not directly threatened, is not justified.  I don't
think that some sort of national service (military or no) is such a bad idea.

Doug