tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851614.post110961512312107258..comments2023-12-21T05:18:05.820-05:00Comments on Lemming's Progress: on a more serious notelemminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767103318863906140noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851614.post-1109659037557526762005-03-01T01:37:00.000-05:002005-03-01T01:37:00.000-05:00I'm fairly certain that it's no longer necessary t...I'm fairly certain that it's no longer necessary to have a religious reason to be a CO. I know because I am one. After college, I was still troubled by the '91 Gulf War, which I felt to be horribly unjust (so you can just imagine how I felt about the 2003 war...the '91 war was a hell of a lot more moral, and I was nauseous over -that- one). My college priest said that I could be a CO...I just needed to write a letter, sign it in front of a notary public, and have a copy handy in the event the military ever came calling for me. Of course, the religious angle helps...that priest has a copy of that letter, as does the Chaplain's office at the alma mater. That way, if it ever came up, I'd have people saying "yes, these are his real feelings, and yes, he had them long before this conflict began, and yes, this is a religiously viable position." But I got the sense that the third "yes" was less important than the other two.<br /><br />I wonder what would have happened had there been a draft. Maybe they'd have sent me to teach English at a DOD school...I don't know. I'm thankful I never found out.<br /><br />I have sympathy for National Guard troops who may not have thought through that they might actually have to fight...but still feel that they signed a contract and knew (or should have known) what they were getting into.<br /><br />Anyway, I'll look forward to reading the article.TeacherRefPoethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10087147646389275919noreply@blogger.com