Posts: 1477
From: Toronto
Registered: Dec 2001

posted April 25, 2003 07:47 PM         

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I'm so excited! I feel as though a tremendous weight has been lifted from my shoulders!

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Posts: 4992
From:
Registered: Feb 2002

posted April 25, 2003 10:03 PM         

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I know the feeling

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posted April 25, 2003 10:11 PM           

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nice one

*contemplates sleeping on the sofa since his room is full of three computers rendering out his animation 24/7*

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Posts: 555
From: Neptune, Milky Way, Universe
Registered: Jun 2002

posted April 25, 2003 10:32 PM         

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Yea 4 U!

I guess you feel that a tremendous weight has been lifted... because it has! Celebrate and enjoy yourself!

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Posts: 5927
From: The Little River Indian Reservation
Registered: Jan 2002

posted April 26, 2003 12:06 AM         

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GOOD GOING, SPIRITUA!

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Posts: 633
From: Los Angeles
Registered: Feb 2003

posted April 26, 2003 03:31 PM         

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WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Time to party!

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I like to watch you in your sleep ..I’d give a million if I knew your name ..And all I need is to be with you ..In a state of dreams ..That’s where I wanted to be ..With you in a state of dreams

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posted April 26, 2003 04:32 PM           

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You suck

Naw, I'm glad fer ya.
2 More weeks to go on my end.

Wanna see what I just had to write for a part of massive presentation on which I am currently working?
No?
Too bad!
(NOTE: There _will_ be grammatical, et al, mistakes; I'm not the one doing the editing. Hurrah. On to PowerPoint.)

Every major religion has a strain that may be considered non-violent, varying from mainstream practice to marginal. Buddhism's core philosophy, for instance, is to "neither harm nor kill, but to cherish all life", and Jainism goes so far as to mandate the wearing of facemasks so that no bugs are accidentally swallowed (Kraft, 1). On the other end of the spectrum there is Islam, which actually sanctions the "lesser Jihad" (or, outward fight for the sake of the faith), but does qualify that any offensive struggle must be ordained by a divinely appointed and infallible Imam (Burns, 125, 131). There may be, therefore, sufficient cause for a Muslim to reject an unjust and harmful war.
In the Europe in 1575, specifically the Netherlands, the first official government recognition of Conscientious Objection and substitution of military conscription in favor of military service was granted for the relatively sparse population of Mennonites. Prince William allowed those objecting on the grounds of conscience the opportunity to dig ditches and build ramparts in support of any war effort, instead of paying the price of hiring a replacement (Burns, 22-23).
Jumping ahead and across the Atlantic, special exemptions were given to specific peace church sects on a state-by-state basis (sometimes requiring payment for exemptions, other times as a blanket grant); during the Revolutionary War, the most common solution the problem of objection to military service was the blanket imposition of a tax (regardless of the motivation for refusal). At that point in time, most religious conscientious objectors - consisting primarily of Mennonites, Quakers, and Brethren - paid their tax without much fanfare (Brock, 71-72).
The Civil War brought a geographical division in response among the Historic Peace Churches. In the North, many overwhelmingly fervently abolitionist young men defected from their traditions for the sake of obliterating the blight of slavery from the land; others simply paid their tax. The South, however, posed a special problem for its Peace Church members. The primarily Virginian Mennonites and Brethren came under a good deal of persecution, including land and property seizure, due their opposition to both the War and to the region's "peculiar institution". They were not initially given the option of hiring a substitute, and many potential recruits simply went into hiding (Brock, 71-73).
No draft was in effect between that time and WWI, but the commencement of the "Great War" brought extreme persecution down upon the heads of Religious Conscientious Objectors. Only those with a proven link to the recognized Peace Churches were granted leeway, but they were then more often then not sent to harsh concentration-style camps. During World War I, seventeen draft resistors. World War II ushered in sweeping changes, including reclassification of Conscientious Objectors as anyone steeped in any religious or philosophical tradition with pacifistic tendencies. The new wave of those refusing the draft ranged from ideological anarchists and socialists to members of the Society of Friends.
However, while the Peace Churches advocated for meaningful civilian service apart from the newly instituted guarantee of non-arms bearing military positions, some refused to participate in any service aiding the war effort and were subsequently jailed; and, often, those that choose the option of civilian service found themselves working in less than desirable conditions doing less than substantive jobs. Many, in an attempt to prove their willingness for self-sacrifice in the name of patriotism, signed-up for the starvation and disease experiments, voluntarily undergoing treatment that left them skeletal remnants of their former selves and/or disabled for life (TGW).
Looking abroad, there are less widely documented cases of claims of conscientious objection. While Asian Buddhists have advocated nonviolence, the philosophy often found itself subsumed to the will of the governing powers. This is justified for the most part by several influential sutras stating, "that in order to protect the truth of Buddhism it may be necessary to bear arms and ignore the moral code," and that challenge "kings to mobilize their troops against invaders." There is, though, ample room for disagreement amongst Buddhist texts, including citations of monks calmly allowing themselves to be "hacked to death" rather than impose harm upon another (Kraft, 5).
Primarily Buddhist Asian countries have been noticeably delinquent in adhering to international standards dealing with conscientious objectors (with the notable exception of Japan, which has no draft) (WRI). In 2001, Taiwan was the first Asian country to implement a conscientious objector and alternative service program (WNPP). Most recently, Oh Tae Yang, a 28-year-old South Korean Buddhist Monk, has challenged that country's draft and mandatory military service (objection to which has landed 10,000 South Koreans in jail since 1953) on the basis of religious objection. The court case is currently pending, and the end result is far from certain (SKB).
Although some may find such a claim dubious, there is a firm foundation for nonviolence and conscientious objection within the Islamic tradition. While defensive military Jihad is explicitly approved within Islamic texts, there is division between the Shi'i and Sunni traditions regarding the viability of offensive Jihad. Both hold that offensive Jihad may only be declared and sanctioned by a divinely appointed and infallible Imam (thereby negating the possibility of the slaughter of innocents), they diverge on the viability of that possibility. The latter believes that any high Imam may be such, and so declarations of Jihad may be seen as valid. The Shi'i tradition, on the other hand, that since the last explicitly divinely appointed Imam went into hiding, there has been "no obligation to engage in offensive jihad...until the messianic leader reappears in the future," (Burns, 129-135).
There seems to be little to no broad agreement on the issue of Judaic reasoning for explicitly nonviolent reasoning for conscientious objection. Cases of refusal of military service, when they have occurred, are more for reasons of separateness from the body politic of the region or country of residence and the resulting practical disenfranchisement (Burns, 49).

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