The United Nations was set up in 1945 with an idea, that relations between peoples might be governed by diplomacy rather than war, conflict and violence. Sadly, the United Nations has not managed to bring an end to war. And as war continues, so too does the recruitment of soldiers.
The issue of how the military find their recruits was in the spotlight once more this month, as a refuser of compulsory military service in Israel faced, and received, imprisonment for the 8th time (Sherwood, 2013). Groups such as Amnesty International have protested on the grounds that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects the right to object to military service on the grounds of conscience (Amnesty International, 2013).
This issue is nothing new. Conscription and conscientious objection are age old companions. And for just as long there have been lazy means of waving down those objections. The most sinister being the accusation of cowardice.
'There is one thing that nobody can deny them: and that is courage. The most difficult form of courage in the world. The courage of the individual against the crowd.' (Capt Stephen Gwynn MP, on Conscientious Objectors)
The refusal to fight has never been cowardly. But those myths have always served as a powerful means to manipulate and cajole people into the ranks. And where that will not suffice, there are other words. Words like patriotism, and duty.
It has to be acknowledged as a reality that the military exists, and further that it is considered a political necessity for the completion of certain tasks: the protection of civilians from psychotic warlords not least amongst them. While many nations have reformed their military over time into volunteer-professional forces, many nations still cling to conscription.
By doing so, they also cling to a fundamental infringement of personal freedom: the restriction of choice. Doing so makes it all the more difficult to achieve peace, the very thing that those military forces are used to defend .
'It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.' (Eleanor Roosevelt, 1951)
The only real and stable means of bringing about peace is trust. Trust in diplomacy; trust in freedom; and trust in human beings to pursue the best in themselves. And that means discarding the systems that coerce, manipulate or otherwise take advantage of people - or force them by legal obligation - into paths that they would not otherwise find conscionable.
==========
References:
==========
+ Harriet Sherwood's 'Israel set to jail teenage conscientious objector for eighth time'; in The Guardian; 1 April 2013.
+ Amnesty International's 'Conscript facing jail again for refusing to go against his conscience'; from amnesty.org; 25 March 2013.
+ Ian Hislop's 'Not Forgotten: The Men who Wouldn't Fight'; on Channel 4; 10 November 2008.
+ Eleanor Roosevelt, quote taken from Wikiquote, referenced as Voice of America broadcast; 11 November 1951.
No comments:
Post a Comment